Preparation / Directions:
"Sorbetti became very popular in the eighteenth century, and the category included many non-sweet dishes. There is a famous treatise on sorbetti by a physician of the time, telling of the many therapeutic uses for these iced dishes. This one, of Parmigiano, is typical of the non-sweet examples, and perhaps the easiest to understand for the modern palate. It should be eaten in place of the cheese coarse, either instead of dessert or before it. The dish has an established place in the old Parma cooking and is *not* an experiment."
Soak the grated Parmesan in a small crockery bowl with 1 cup of the milk for 1 hour.
Heat the remaining milk in a flameproof casserole and, when the milk reaches the boiling point, add the soaked Parmesan and the milk. Stir with a wooden spoon to keep the cheese from sticking to the bottom of the casserole. Simmer for 2 minutes.
Line a small strainer with a heavy cheesecloth or paper towels and place it over a crockery bowl. Pour the contents of the casserole through the cheesecloth and let stand for about 1 hour to drain completely. Discard the gummy residue of the cheese remaining in the strainer. (This residue will have lost the flavor of years of aging and will resemble the bland fresh curd of Parmesan. The flavor, of course, will have been absorbed by the milk.)
Be sure the liquid in the bowl has no cheese grains in it. Then prepare a "custard cream" using this liquid and 3 egg yolks and salt, following standard pastry cream directions.
Transfer the cream to a crockery bowl and let stand until completely cool.
Prepare the Sorbetto, following ice cream maker's directions.
Source: Giuliano Bugialli's Classic Techniques of Italian Cooki
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