Dennis Prescott

Parmesan, thank you for being so crazy delicious.

I recently had the good fortune to hear about Sobey’s Parm Night, an evening to celebrate all things parmigiano reggiano and their 30-month aged parm, straight from the land of deliciousness (viva Italia). On a burger. A Salad. A nice baguette. Or just shamelessly eating straight from a huge hunk of heaven. Parmesan is all kinds of delicious.

And new to me is how intense the production of a legit 30-month aged Mountain Parm. Produced at minimum elevation levels of at least 500 metres.  The cow’s only eat grass or hay Apennine Mountains. Serious terroir action. More info on this King of Parm here. All I know, is I have a new appreciation for way one of my favourite ingredients is made. Amaze.

I absolutely love how incredibly committed to excellence producers like this are. Someone who says, “I love making sushi, or growing tomatoes, or taking pictures of elephants….or producing parmigiano reggiano….and commit a lifetime to honing their craft. The goal of mastery. I aspire to this kind of drive towards excellence, and am inspired by folks already walking towards their goal.

My recipe for Parm Night is all about rocking the parmesan. Parm in the burgers, topped with Parmesan Herb Crisps….and some provolone and pancetta for good measure. This is a real deal burger, completely full of flavour.

Tag your Parm Night Parmesan Crisps with #myparmnight and you can even win some sweet goodness from Sobeys. Check out the contest details here.

Provolone Pancetta Burgers with Parmesan Herb Crisps

Makes 4 burgers

For the burger patties;

1 ½ lbs ground chuck

1 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons chives, finely diced

1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, finely diced

1 clove of garlic, grated

1 tablespoon of butter

Salt & pepper

One recipe parmesan herb crisps;

Hit up Sobey’s recipe here.

To build;

4 burgers buns

4 slices of provolone cheese

8 slices of pancetta

1 cup romaine lettuce

2 kamato tomatoes (or other delicious toms), sliced

4 tablespoons mayo

First make your parm crisps. Try not to eat them all in one delicious sitting, and set aside for later.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, combine all of your burger ingredients, mix well, and shape into patties slightly larger than your buns. Place a thumbprint in the center of each patty to help stop it shrinking. Season both sides with salt & pepper.

Heat 2 large frying pans over medium. In one, melt your butter. When the butter has melted, fry your burgers, 4 – 5 minutes per side, until cooked through. Top each burger with a slice of cheese, and transfer to the oven to get nice and melty (3 – 4 minutes). While the burgers are rocking away, fry your pancetta in the second preheated pan, 3 minutes per side or until nice and crispy. Note – pancetta likes to smoke a little bit / if you have a window, crank it open.

Build your burgers with 1 tablespoons of mayo, a burger, 2 slices of tomato, 2 slices of pancetta, and 2 parm crisps. Top with romaine and serve immediately.