Did anyone else out there spend the better part of yesterday watching the NCAA Basketball Tournament? I love this time of the year for sports! In fact, I was just telling my wife that the 1st 2 days of the Tournament (yesterday and today) might just be the best time in the yearly sports calendar. Don’t get me wrong…I love NFL playoffs, college football’s bowl season, and college baseball, too. But there were 16 games yesterday! And 16 more today!
About mid-way through the marathon of games yesterday, I decided I needed popcorn. There’s just something about sports and movies that requires popcorn! But I wasn’t in the mood for normal microwave popcorn…I wanted something a little tastier and more gourmet. So I headed over to the kitchen and whipped up a quick batch of Parmesan + Rosemary Popcorn on the stovetop. Yup, you can absolutely pop popcorn on a stovetop! You just need a nice heavy saute pan with a lid, and you’re good to go.
As the popcorn was, well, popping, I headed over to the refrigerator to see what I could use for a topping. I noticed I had a couple sprigs of rosemary and also some Parmigiano Reggiano cheese leftover from a previous post. Done! About 5 minutes later, I was enjoying fresh stove-popped popcorn with grated Parmesan cheese and chopped rosemary. And that was some of the best popcorn I’ve ever eaten, too! Good thing there are more games today…and tomorrow…and Sunday. I see a lot of tasty popcorn in my future! What are your favorite popcorn toppings?
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup canola oil (or enough to cover bottom of pan)
- 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 2 tbsp rosemary, removed from stem and finely chopped
- butter, to taste
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- In a large saute pan with a lid, add the canola oil and kernels. Stir to evenly coat all kernels.
- Cover pan and turn heat to medium.
- Once the first kernel pops, begin lightly shaking pan back and forth to ensure kernels don't burn.
- When popping slows to once every 3-4 seconds, remove pan from heat and uncover.
- Add rosemary, Parmesan, melted butter (optional), and salt (optional). Toss to coat.
Notes
Once you put the kernels in the pan, you'll need to gently shake the pan back and forth on the stovetop to keep the popped kernels from burning!
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