Parmigiano Reggiano, elected best cheese in the world in 2023, is the star ingredient of these three winter recipes. From a hearty focaccia to a silky fondue and a smoky bread soup, each dish turns a single exceptional cheese into a full seasonal meal.
Winter cooking is about warmth, depth, and the kind of flavors that linger. And few ingredients deliver that better than a well-aged Parmigiano Reggiano, the Italian cheese that has earned its reputation not just through tradition but through a formal title: best cheese in the world in 2023.
These three recipes are built around that one ingredient, used in different forms — grated into dough, shaved over a bowl, melted into a sauce. Each one serves 4 people and works perfectly for a weeknight dinner or a slow weekend meal.
Focaccia with Parmigiano Reggiano, pumpkin and red onions
This focaccia is not the flat, oily slab you might expect. It is a substantial, savory bread built on 500 g of durum wheat semolina, enriched with 150 g of grated Parmigiano Reggiano folded directly into the dough. The cheese becomes part of the structure, not just a topping.
Making the dough and letting it rise
Start by dissolving 10 g of fresh baker's yeast in half a glass of lukewarm water. Combine the semolina, yeast mixture, 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, and the grated cheese, adding water gradually until the dough comes together. Cover it with a damp cloth and leave it at room temperature for at least 6 hours. This long, slow rise develops flavor and gives the focaccia its open, chewy crumb.
Preparing the toppings and baking
While the dough rests, pre-cook 500 g of pumpkin seasoned with a sprig of rosemary and a garlic clove on an oiled baking tray at 180°C for 15 minutes. Once the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 200°C, stretch the dough onto an oiled tray, brush the surface with olive oil, and arrange the pumpkin pieces on top. Bake for 15 minutes, then add 2 thinly sliced red onions and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. The focaccia can be served warm or cold, making it just as good the next day.
The Parmigiano Reggiano grated into the dough adds a subtle umami depth that intensifies as the focaccia cools. Serving it cold the next day is genuinely worth trying.
Bread and garlic soup with Parmigiano Reggiano and watercress
This soup is a lesson in how to transform humble pantry staples into something deeply satisfying. The base is 180 g of white bread (4 thick slices), fried in 60 ml of extra-virgin olive oil until golden. That fried bread, blended into 1 liter of chicken stock, becomes the body of the soup — thick, smoky, and rich.
Building the flavor base
Heat a third of the oil in a pan and fry the bread slices for 1 to 2 minutes per side. Set them aside, then use the remaining oil to gently brown 2 garlic cloves. Watch the heat carefully here: burned garlic will turn the entire soup bitter. Add 5 g of smoked paprika and stir for exactly 15 seconds before pouring in half the stock. Add the fried bread and let everything simmer for 2 minutes.
Finishing and serving the soup
Remove the pan from the heat and blend until completely smooth. Add the remaining stock gradually, adjusting the consistency to your preference. Season with 2 g of salt and 2.5 g of lemon juice, which lifts the whole dish without making it taste acidic. Ladle into bowls and finish with 50 ml of crème fraîche, fresh watercress, and 60 g of Parmigiano Reggiano shavings made by running a vegetable peeler along a block of the cheese. The shavings melt slightly on contact with the hot soup, adding a salty, nutty finish.
If you enjoy simple, warming recipes that make the most of a few quality ingredients, this soup fits squarely in that tradition.
of Parmigiano Reggiano shavings to finish the soup for 4 people
Parmigiano Reggiano fondue
The fondue is the most elegant of the three recipes and arguably the most versatile. It works as a starter with crusty bread, a sauce over pasta, or a dip for roasted vegetables. The secret lies in using both 150 g of grated Parmigiano Reggiano and a 3 cm piece of Parmigiano rind, which infuses the cream with a deeper, more complex flavor during cooking.
Cooking the fondue step by step
Pour 100 ml of white wine into a saucepan and bring it to a boil for 2 to 3 minutes until the alcohol fully evaporates. Add 300 ml of crème fraîche, a pinch of nutmeg, and the rind cut into small cubes. Let this simmer for 5 minutes so the rind releases its flavor into the cream. Add the grated Parmigiano and stir continuously until fully melted. To thicken the fondue to the right consistency, pour in 1 teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water and stir until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Finish with a pinch of white pepper.
Serve immediately with crunchy bread. The fondue holds well over low heat if you are serving it as part of a larger spread, but it is best eaten fresh.
This kind of recipe pairs beautifully with other affordable, crowd-pleasing dinner ideas when you are cooking for a group without wanting to spend hours in the kitchen. And if you are looking to round out the meal with something sweet that requires minimal effort, three-ingredient desserts are a natural complement to these savory, cheese-forward dishes.
Using the Parmigiano Reggiano rind in the fondue is not optional — it is what separates a good fondue from a great one. Never discard the rind.
What makes these three recipes work as a collection is the range they cover. The focaccia is a project, rewarding patience with a bread that improves as it cools. The bread soup is quick, built on technique rather than time. The Parmigiano Reggiano fondue is pure indulgence, reduced to its simplest form. Together, they show exactly why this Italian cheese has earned its reputation as the best in the world.
