These Peppery Cheese Crisps are a compromise.
Or maybe a concession.
When you are the one doing the cooking, you get to call the shots. And while you try to please everyone (yes- good luck with that!), there’s just not going to be any bacon.
It’s not even like I cooked it much before the balance in the house tipped to vegetarian. But now, for one of my omnivores, it has become ‘The Thing Most Missed’.
So there’s these.
Salty and crispy, and way easier to cook than bacon.
The cheese adds the salt, but if you need a bit more, give them a light sprinkle before baking.
You can serve the crisps as an appetizer, or as a side with a meal. Either way, no one will miss the bacon.
- 1 cup / 250 ml finely grated Parmesan cheese see note
- 1 tablespoon / 15 ml cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 ml chili pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon / 1.25 ml freshly cracked pepper
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F / 204 degrees C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In small bowl, stir together cheese, cornstarch, chili pepper flakes and fresh pepper.
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Scoop a tablespoon of the mixture onto the baking sheet. Smooth and spread into a circle so that there is a thin layer on the tray. Fill tray, leaving a bit of room between each circle.
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Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool briefly on tray, then remove to a cooling rack.
If you are vegetarian, check the ingredients on your cheese to ensure there is no rennet, which is derived from animals. Parmigiano Reggiano (the authentic Italian version) uses rennet. Many of the versions of the cheese produced in other countries use microbial or bacterial enzymes in the cheese-making process rather than rennet.
The cheese in the crisps should have enough salt so that you do not need to add additional salt to the recipe. If you prefer a saltier crisp, sprinkle lightly with salt before baking.
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