Cook the Book: Frico Tacos with Mache
Delicate and airy, frico tacos are lace doilies of cooled, melted cheese. There's a brief window between removing it from the hot pan and setting it down to cool where a frico can be molded into any shape you choose. Here, Martha Stewart uses taco-shaped frico as a receptacle for lamb's leaf lettuce, but I've often made larger frico bowls, using a muffin tin as a mold, for use as an edible vessel for peppery arugula salad.
Ingredients
yield: 2 dozen
- 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 small bunches mache, leaves picked to yield about 2 cups
- 1 recipe Asiago Frico, taco-shaped (recipe follows)
Procedures
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1
In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, shallots, and mustard. Whisk in the olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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2
Gently toss the mache with the vinaigrette. Carefully place the mache into the frico tacos and serve. Assemble as close to serving time as possible.
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Asiago Frico
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4
- makes 2 dozen 4-inch frico -
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Ingredients:
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6
9 ounces Asiago cheese, grated on the fine holes of a box grater to yield 3 1/2 cups
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1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
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Procedure:
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In a medium bowl, toss the cheese and the flour together. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons of the cheese into the pan to form a circle about 4 inches in diameter.
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Cook until the cheese is somewhat melted but not firm, about 2 minutes. Using a spatula, turn the cheese over and cook until it is visibly firm and just taking on a little color, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Drape the frico over a large rolling pin or place on paper towels until cool. To make frico tacos, transfer the frico from the pan to a paper towel and hold it in the palm of your hand. Depress an offset spatula down the meddle to form a taco shape. Transfer to paper towels to cool. Repeat with the remaining cheese.
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