June 11, 2007

Salad in Parmesan Frico Cup


One of my favorite eat-out salads is "Fajita Salad" from White Spot. The tender strips of Augus sirloin topped over the romaine lettuce tossed with the delicious dressing......hmmmm...I'm already mouth-watering though I've just finished dinner.

Another highlight is that it's not what you would imagine of having steak and salad greens wrapped in a corn tortilla. Instead the salad is served in a giant crispy tortilla shell. I'm telling you, I might not be able to finish the salad, but I could practically eat the whole shell....just like having a full pack of you-can't-stop-eating-it chips!

This recipe was originally from Giada De Laurentiis' Spinach Salad in a Parmesan Frico Cup. Like the tortilla shell, the Parmesan frico cup serves as an edible salad bowl. Plus its little beautiful hand-held bite size works perfectly as appetizer for any type of party.

I made a little twist with the filling. As long as you make the perfect frico cup, you can actually fill in whatever greens you want.

(makes 6 cups)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Salad
6 cups of any salad green you preferred (I used red and green lettuce), finely sliced
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 cup roast red pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup toasted pinenut

Dressing

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F.

To make the frico cups, evenly divide the Parmesan cheese into 6 portions. Place them on the baking pan and gently tap down until each portion is flat and round with 4" in diameter. Bake for 10 minutes until golden and bubbly.

Working quickly, use a thin spatula to transfer the Parmesan frico to a regular-sized muffin tin. Gently place a small drinking glass on top of the frico to mold it into the shape of the muffin cups. Let cool until firm about 5 minutes. Continue with the others. (You have to move really fast or the frico will cool and won't mold. If you don't move fast enough, throw the frico back in the oven for a few seconds to get them warm and soft again)

Mix all the dressing ingredients. Pour over the salad and toss to combine.

Divide the salad among the Parmesan frico cups and serve immediately.

3 comments:

Freya said...

This sounds so good and slightly exotic with the Frico Cup! Looks great!

Patricia Scarpin said...

The frico cup idea is sensational - one can't go wrong with parmesan! :)

lululu said...

freya and paul - thanks exotically!!!

patrica - thanks sensationally!!!