Italy's nutty, buttery parmigiano cheese has many fans, but I wasn’t aware until recently that they included Benjamin Franklin. In London during the summer of 1769, he wrote to his friend John Bartram: “Dear Friend...It is true many People are fond of Accounts of old Buildings, Monuments, &c. but...for one I confess that if I could find in any Italian Travels a Receipt for making Parmesan Cheese, it would give me more Satisfaction than a Transcript of any Inscription from any old Stone whatever.”

Mr Franklin, I doubt it would have done you any good even if you had the recipe. By law, the cows providing the milk for Parmigiano Reggiano must have eaten only fresh grass, hay or alfalfa. The process is tightly controlled, with only 800 or so small dairy farms in the regions of Modena, Parma and Reggio Emilia licensed to produce the milk.

The real thing — Parmigiano-Reggiano — is made from a combination of the cows’ evening milk, semi-skimmed, and the fresh morning milk. The cheeses are floated in brine baths for three weeks, then matured for two to four years, developing a deeper, more golden colour and a more complex character, as well as producing tiny, almost crunchy, granular specks. It is at its finest served simply, with fresh fruit, but I can’t imagine a prettier summer salad for tonight’s meal than this one, of asparagus, broad beans and tarragon topped with shards of parmesan.

Ingredients

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 5 min

Serves 4

Serve as a warm salad, a first course or a light lunch.

800g fresh asparagus
100g podded broad beans
100g parmesan
1 tbsp tarragon or mint

Dressing:

1 tbsp walnut oil
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, crushed
Sea salt and pepper

METHOD

Snap the woody ends off the asparagus. Cook the asparagus and beans in a frying pan of simmering salted water for 5 minutes or until tender.

Using a vegetable peeler, slice the parmesan into thin shavings over a sheet of paper. Allow for 6 or 8 shavings per person. In a large bowl, whisk the walnut oil, extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, mustard, garlic, sea salt and pepper together.

Drain the asparagus and broad beans, shake dry, and toss in the dressing while still hot. Add the tarragon or mint, and turn on to four plates. Gently scatter the parmesan shavings on top and serve.

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