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How to elevate your Christmas occasions with Grana Padano
Want to be the host with the most? Make this mouth-watering cheese your go-to for delicious dishes this festive season and beyond
Nothing says Christmas like sharing a festive cheeseboard with family and friends – and if you’re looking for a crowd-pleasing hard cheese to add to the mix, you need to try Grana Padano.
This best-selling PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) cheese has a satisfyingly firm texture and gorgeously creamy taste, and has become a staple ingredient across the globe.
And when you’re not enjoying it as part of a cheeseboard, it’s just as perfect for grating, tossing or sprinkling into almost any meal, side or snack. You can even serve it on its own alongside your favourite aperitivo.
Aged to perfection
Grana Padano was created almost 1,000 years ago by the Cistercian monks of Chiaravalle Abbey in Milan as a means of preserving surplus milk, making is one of the world’s oldest hard cheeses. While ‘Grana’ comes from the Italian word for ‘grain’, as a nod to its grainy texture, ‘Padano’ refers to the region of Northern Italy where it’s produced.
Today, it’s adored by chefs and home cooks alike and is still created using only traditional methods. It’s made exclusively with partially skimmed raw milk from the Po River Valley, but surprisingly, it’s naturally lactose-free, thanks to its specific production and ageing process.
There are three different ages to choose from. The wheels aged between nine and 16 months are soft textured and have a delicate, milky taste that’s ideal for everyday cooking, while the ones aged for more than 16 months are tangier and more fragrant, with a grainy texture and aroma of hay and dried fruit.
Meanwhile, the Grana Padano Riserva is matured for more than 20 months to create its iconic golden colour, grainy texture and triangular flake structure. Bursting with equally fragrant and delicate notes of hay, butter and dried fruit, this luxuriously rich cheese is the perfect addition to any special occasion – especially a festive feast.
Endlessly versatile
Whatever the occasion, from classic Italian meals to finger food and flavour-packed brunches, there are so many ways you can unleash your culinary creativity with Grana Padano.
But if you’d like to impress your nearest and dearest with something suitably festive, why not try making some Christmas bread trees with Grana Padano PDO cream spread? Or you could whip up a plateful of quick and easy Christmas canapés with salmon mousse and a Grana Padano pistachio sauce.
Want some more recipe inspiration?
These Grana Padano gougères are a quick, easy and simple way to add some festive flair to your party snacks or starters.
Grana Padano gougères
SERVES 6 PREP 20 mins COOK 25 mins EASY
Ingredients
75g salted butter
150g plain flour
4 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
175g Grana Padano, grated
For the dip
75g mayonnaise
150g sour cream
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large garlic clove, grated
50g Grana Padano, grated, plus extra for serving
15g basil, finely chopped
½ lemon, zested and juiced
Method
1 In a medium saucepan, heat the butter with a generous pinch of salt and 250ml water over a medium heat. Bring to a boil, then add the flour and quickly mix to form a very soft dough. Cook for another 30 secs, stirring until it leaves a dry film on the bottom of the pan, then spread onto a plate to cool.
2 Meanwhile, heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7 and line a large baking tray with parchment. Once cooled, return the dough to the pan and use a wooden spoon to beat in the eggs 1 tbsp at a time until smooth, shiny and reluctantly falling from the spoon in a ‘v’ shape. Stir in the Dijon mustard, most of the Grana Padano and a big pinch of freshly ground black pepper.
3 Transfer the dough mixture to a piping bag and pipe walnut-sized blobs onto the lined baking tray, spacing them well apart. Smooth the tops with a wet finger and sprinkle with the remaining Grana Padano. Bake in the oven for 5 mins, then lower the temperature to 200C/fan 190C/gas 7 for the remaining 15 mins until the pastry is golden, risen and puffed up. Leave to cool for 5 mins.
4 Make the dip by mixing all the ingredients with a pinch of salt and pepper, then serve the gougères with the dip on the side and an extra sprinkling of Grana Padano across the top.
Unleash your creativity this Christmas and beyond with Grana Padano
