Waiting for the Big Cheese (photo: courtesy of Chris Lyons Communications)

A 400-lb. wheel of Italian cheese billed as “The World’s Largest” arrived in Concord, MA, yesterday. It was a red-carpet, flag-waving reception, replete with cheese tossing dancers from Concord Academy (no kidding about the tossing) and a Naples-born soloist named Alfredo who serenaded the crowd.  There were samples handed out, of course, but this was after a public decree was read, the cheese was rolled off its truck, down a ramp, through the crowd and heaved onto a table set outside The Cheese Shop — its temporary home before it gets parceled out to expectant customers for approximately $20 lb.

Crucolo on the move, with rose petals adorning its path (photo: Sue McCrory)

What kind of cheese IS this? Crucolo is the name. It’s made from cow’s milk in the province of Trentino in northern Italy, mildly salty to the taste and soft. It’s therefore a versatile cheese that’s easy to cook with since it melts easily — making for a savory pizza topping  — but pleasing enough to stand alone as an appetizer. We sampled freshly cut wedges and dug into a tooth-pick pierced, traditional dish called canederli, small balls of dough made from stale bread, egg, parsley, onion, the Tyrolian ham known as speck and crucolo (great holiday appetizer; recipe below).

Exporter Cesare Gallo with the Crucolo, now in quarters (photo: Sue McCrory

If you’re intrigued, and want more recipe ideas, you’ll need to head to Concord, and soon. According to Peter Lovis, The Cheese Shop owner and exuberant host of yesterday’s festivities, last year’s mammoth wheel sold within two weeks.

CANEDERLI

Canederli are traditional of the Alto Adige region of northern Italy. Made with stale bread, Speck and Crucolo cheese, canederli are shaped into balls and served in broth or on their own.

Recipe adapted from Southern Tyrolean Classics, by Heinrich Gasteiger, Gerhard Wiser and Helmut Backmann.

INGREDIENTS
4 c. stale bread in small pieces
1 egg
1/3 c. plus 2 TB milk
1/4 c. parsley, chopped
salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste
1 small onion (about 1/2 c., chopped)
1 TB butter
scant 1/2 c. flour
6 oz. Speck, finely chopped
1/2 c. Crucolo cheese, diced fine
Beef or Chicken broth
Grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano

DIRECTIONS
Place the bread in the bowl of a food precessor. Add the egg, milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Process.

Saute the onion in butter until golden brown. Add the Speck and cook about 5 minutes.

Let the Speck cool. Add it to the bread mixture; add the parsley and flour and pulse until the mixture comes together. Stir in the Crucolo and let the mixture set in the refrigerator for 30 min.

Bring a pot of broth to simmer. Shape the canederli into 16 balls. Gently add them to the simmering both and cook 6-8 min. Remove with a slotted spoon and serve in the broth with grated cheese, chopped parsley and julienned Speck as garnish, or on a plate with sliced Speck.

The Crucolo arrives (photo: Sue McCrory)

Peter Trovis (right) and cheese enthusiasts pose with the Crucolo (photo: Sue McCrory)