| I have come across two sorts of edible bowls in Mexican restaurants:
Tortilla bowl: [for Taco salad, fruit salad, guacamole, salsa]
Take *large* flour tortilla -- the 19" kind work best, but the
smaller [12-15"] are OK too -- steam just enough to make supple.
Mold into bowl shape [gently] between two small stainless bowls,
grip the bowls firmly with tongs and lower into very hot oil
to deep-fry. [yes, this is very much like making taco shells]
Bread bowl [often with cheese]: [for chili, stews, soups]
Take any bread or hot roll recipe that catches your fancy, mold
the dough upside-down over oven-proof ramekins or other small
bowls and bake.
I hope that this is helpful,
Annie
[the 'ten-minute gourmet']
|
| I've seen these things made of fried noodles and also of fried
potatoes, as well as the variations mentionned in the previous reply.
To do the noodle thing, you cook some spaghetti-like noodles al
dente, and the carefully arrange them in a strainer of the proper
size and shape (I don't have any strainers that are small but have
a flat bottom, so I have never tried this) - one picture in one
of my cookbooks shows someone carefully arrangething the noodles
to make a cute border at the top of the strainer by folding then
around in loops there - looks like a lot of work. Then you fry
the whole thing until crispy.
To do the potato one, you need two strainers, one smaller than the
other, or a speical tool I've seen in mail-order catalogs that looks
like two strainers connected by a hinge on the handles. You arrnage
potato strings in the bottom one, carefully put the top strainer
over it (or close the hinged thing) to hold them in place, and fry
the result.
I doubt that either one of these "bowls" would hold soup, but you
could use them for salads.
|
|
tortilla bowl
Get the largest corn or flour tortillas you can buy in the store.
Make sure the package is "flexible" when you flex the edges up and down.
get tortillas to room temperature while you heat a deep pan of oil or lard
to deep fry temperature. Using a square shaped tool like a potato
ricer (Mom always called it the "masher"), place a tortilla flat
on the top of the oil and IMMEDIATELY push down in the center with
the ricer, thereby forming a bowl, hold until the tortilla is browned.
Remove from the oil and drain well. You can wrap these, separated
by waxed paper, in foil and freeze until you want to use them and then
"crisp" in the oven when you need one. Really soupy stuff won't
work real well...but tostadas are wonderful and really easy to make.
The flour tortilla bowls are also a good way to serve guacamole
(avocado dip), chile con queso (chile and cheese dip) or bean dip.
Chile is also quite tasty in these.
Bread cups
Trim the crust off fresh white or soft wheat bread. Butter muffin
cups really well. Push a piece of bread into the muffin cup,
pressing it against the sides, thereby forming a cup. Brush the
bread with melted butter or margarine and bake until well browned
in a 350 degree F. oven. Remove and use to hold scrambled eggs
for a brunch.
|
| This is a recipe for an edible bowl to use to hold hot or cold food.
CHEDDAR CHEESE PUFF
INGREDIENTS:
2 eggs
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
dash salt (optional)
Beat eggs until frothy. Gradually beat in flour until smooth. Add
milk, butter and salt and blend well. Add cheddar cheese and blend
well.
Pour batter into well-greased 9 inch pie plate or 3 well greased
4 inch baking dishes. Bake at 425 degrees F. 15 minutes, then
reduce heat to 350 and bake until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes for
large or 5 to 10 minutes for small containers.
Remove from oven to rack and cool away from draft. Puff will fall in
the center, forming a bowl as it cools.
VARIATIONS:
omit cheese, add 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil.
add 1 teaspoon fresh dill weed.
omit cheese, add 1 teaspoon chinese 5 spice powder.
HAM AND VEGETABLE SALAD IN CHEESE PUFF
DRESSING:
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup champagne vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
SALAD:
6 - 8 ounces cooked ham, julienned
1 red onion, sliced in thin rings
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup cheddar cheese shredded
1 small head belgian endive
1 bunch spinach leaves, wash, dried, stemmed
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
salt and pepper to taste
Make dressing, add ham, onion, and celery and toss to coat well.
Let stand at least 30 minutes (an hour is better).
Toss endive leaves, spinach, cheese, cherry tomatoes and ham mixture.
Season to taste. Drain well and spoon into puff. Serves
3 big eaters.
|