Parmigiano Reggiano – Nacho Cups & Cheesy Blinis – Festive Canapés

Parmigiano Reggiano Nacho Cups

These Nacho Cups are delicious little bites of yumminess with all of the taste of Nachos and none of the grain!  By melting, re-forming and cooling the Parmigiano Reggiano you can create little cups or baskets that you can fill with all number of delicious flavours.

To make the Nacho Cups you start by preheating the oven to 160C (320F).  You need to use quite a low heat so that the cheese doesn’t burn.  Then, line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

The next step is to grate the Parmigiano Reggiano.  I used my food processor with the grating attachment to speed things up, however doing it by hand wont take too long.  Once all the Parmigiano Reggiano is grated, place a small heap of cheese (about 1 tbsp) on the grease proof paper and shape into a vague circle approx 2-2.5 ins in diameter.

Repeat this step until the baking tray is covered with Parmesan mounds.   Make sure not to place the individual heaps too close together.   They will spread out a small amount as they melt and you don’t want them all melting into each other.  An inch or so around each one should be plenty.

Then the tray  goes into the oven to bake the Parmesan Crisps until they start to change colour.   This should take about 5 mins.  Firstly they melt and then as you cook them longer they start to get darker.  You want it so that they just start to turn a golden brown colour.

Once they are golden brown, remove the Parmesan Crisps from the oven.  They will be soft until they have cooled and at this point you want to mould them into cup shapes.  Peel  them off of the grease proof paper and place into mini muffin tins.  Press down so that they take on the shape of the tin.  If any of the Parmesan Crisps get too cool and crunchy you can re-warm them for a few seconds, back in the oven, to make them pliable again.

Then, allow the cheese to cool in the muffin tin until they have crisped up into cup shapes.

Next you need to prepare the nacho filling.  Dice up the small avocado and the sun-dried tomatoes.  Season well and spoon into the Parmigiano Reggiano Nacho cups.  Top each with a dollop of sour cream and then chilli or coriander – or both!  If you’re following the SCD diet you can just leave the sour cream off.  Or you could replace it with dry curd cottage cheese!  If you’re making these in advance – you can make the cups and store them in an air-tight container.  Fill them just before serving or they may go soft due to the moisture in the filling.

Parmigiano Reggiano Nacho Cups

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Appetisers, Snacks

Cuisine Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Low Carb, Mexican, Paleo, Refined Sugar-Free, SCD

Servings 12 canapés

Ingredients

  

• 150 g Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan)
• 1 small avocado
• 4 sundried tomatoes
• 30 g sour cream
• coriander leaves / chilli to garnish
• salt & pepper

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 160C (320F) and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
• Grate the Parmigiano Reggiano.
• Place a small heap of the cheese (about 1 tbsp) on the grease proof paper and shape into a vague circle.
• Repeat until you have covered the baking tray. Make sure not to place the circles too close together as they will spread out as they melt.
• Bake the cheese rounds until they start to change colour (about 5 minutes).
• Remove the tray from the oven and, while they are still soft, mould them into cup shapes. Do this by peeling them off of the grease proof paper and place into mini muffin tins, pressing down firmly to create the shape. (If any of the Parmesan Crisps get too cool and crunchy you can re-warm the for a few seconds, back in the oven to make them pliable again).
• Allow the cups to cool in the tin so that they crisp up into the correct shape.
• Dice up the avocado and sun-dried tomatoes and season well.
• Spoon into the Nacho Cups and top with half a teaspoon of sour cream.
• Garnish with chilli or coriander leaves or anything that takes your fancy and serve.

Allergy & Dietary Information for Parmigiano Reggiano Nacho Cups

This Parmigiano Reggiano Nacho Cups recipe is Grain-Free, Gluten-Free & Refined-Sugar Free.  It’s also suitable for SCD, Paleo, Low Carb & Vegetarian Diets.

See my Products Page for Ingredients & Bakeware that I recommend.

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The second festive canapés I decided to make with the delicious Parmigiano Reggiano were:

Cheesy Blinis with Prosciutto & Cranberry

I made Grain Free Blinis earlier in the year and served them with smoked salmon, creme fraîche and caviar.  This time I wanted to make a cheesier version so I decided to add Parmigiano Reggiano into the blini batter.

To start with, mix together the eggs and the yoghurt.  (If you’re following the SCD diet, make sure to use SCD yoghurt).  It might be a bit lumpy at this stage as it wont mix together very well but don’t worry at this point.   Next, add the coconut flour to the egg and yoghurt mixture bit by bit.  You need to mix well at this point to ensure there are no lumps.  (If you get lumps just squash them against the side of the bowl with the back of a spoon and mix harder!)  You need to add enough coconut flour to get the right consistency as this will be your blini batter.  Some eggs are larger than others, some yoghurt is runnier etc so it’s not an exact science but just add a little at a time.  The batter should be pourable but not runny, almost paste like.

Grate the Parmigiano Reggiano and add half of it to the blini batter.  Stir well to ensure that it is evenly distributed.

Now it’s time to cook the blinis.  Heat a teaspoon of the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat on the stove. Take a tablespoon of the mixture and dollop it into the pan.  The batter should spread out a tiny bit but will mainly hold its shape. You’re looking for a kind of circular shape about 3 cm in diameter. Fry on one side for about 2 minutes until they become loose on the bottom of the pan and then flip them over. Cook for another 2 mins and remove from the pan once both sides are golden brown. Leave them to rest on a piece of kitchen towel to soak up any extra oil.  Repeat the steps until you have used all the mixture adding more oil as you need it. You don’t want to overcrowd the pan but you can probably fry 7-8 at the same time.  Set the cooked blinis aside to cool.

Now you need to prepare the crispy Parmigiano Reggiano and Prosciutto shards.  Preheat the oven to 160C (320F) and arrange the other half of the grated cheese in a thin layer on a baking parchment lined tray.  Do the same with the prosciutto but add another layer of baking parchment on top of the prosciutto and top with a second baking tray.  (This just helps to keep the slices flat while they are crisping up).  Place the Parmigiano Reggiano and the Prosciutto in the oven and bake for around 10 mins.  You want the cheese to turn a slight golden brown colour and the prosciutto to darken and crisp up.  Once out of the oven and cooled, break up the cheese and the prosciutto into shards and set aside.  Now you have all your elements and you’re ready to assemble the canapés.

Pipe the cream cheese on top of the cooled Cheesy Blinis.  Add a crispy Prosciutto and a Parmigiano Reggiano shard and a pea sized dollop of cranberry sauce for that festive feel.  (I make my own cranberry sauce to be sugar-free but you can use the store-bought version if you want to).  Recipe coming soon!  You can also substitute the cream cheese for dripped yoghurt if you follow the SCD diet or even dry curd cottage cheese.  Top with a coriander leaf for a bit of colour and they’re ready to serve to your hungry guests!

The sweetness of the cranberry sauce goes so well with the saltiness of the Parmigiano Reggiano and the creaminess of the cream cheese.  Each mouthful really does have a little bit of everything!  Also, to make it that bit easier, you can make the blinis in advance and freeze them!  Just defrost a few hours before serving and add the various toppings! 

Cheesy Blinis with Crispy Prosciutto & Cranberry

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course Appetisers, Snacks

Cuisine Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Low Carb, Paleo, Refined Sugar-Free, SCD

Servings 10 blinis

Ingredients

  

• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp natural yoghurt (SCD Yoghurt)
• 2-3 tbsps coconut flour
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 250 g Parmigiano Reggiano
• 3 slices prosciutto
• 100 g cream cheese
• 1 tbsp cranberry sauce
• coriander leaves to garnish

Instructions

 

• Mix together the eggs and the yoghurt.
• Add the coconut flour to the egg and yoghurt mixture bit by bit and mix well at this point to ensure there are no lumps. Add just enough coconut flour to get the right consistency. The batter should be pourable but not runny, almost paste like.
• Grate the Parmigiano Reggiano and add half of it to the blini batter. Stir well to ensure that it is evenly distributed.
• Heat a teaspoon of the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat on the stove. Take a tablespoon of the mixture and dollop it into the pan - you want a blini about 3cm in diameter.
• Fry on one side for about 2 minutes, flip them over and cook for another 2 mins. Remove from the pan once both sides are golden brown. Leave to rest on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
• Repeat the steps until you have used all the mixture adding more oil as you need it.
• Preheat the oven to 160C (320F) and arrange the other half of the grated cheese in a thin layer on a baking parchment lined tray.
• Do the same with the prosciutto but add another layer of baking parchment on top of the prosciutto and top with a second baking tray.
• Bake in the oven for around 10 mins until the cheese turns a slight golden brown colour and the prosciutto darkens and crisps up.
• Allow to cool and break up into shards.
• Pipe the cream cheese on top of the cooled Cheesy Blinis.
• Add a crispy Prosciutto and a Parmigiano Reggiano shard and a pea sized dollop of cranberry sauce.
• Finish with a coriander leaf and serve.

Allergy & Dietary Information for Cheesy Blinis with Crispy Prosciutto & Cranberry

These Cheesy Blinis with Crispy Prosciutto & Cranberry are Grain-Free, Gluten-Free & Refined-Sugar Free.  They’re also suitable for SCD, Paleo & Low Carb Diets.

See my Products Page for Ingredients & Bakeware that I recommend.

Pin Cheesy Blinis with Crispy Prosciutto & Cranberry for later