By Easter weekend. Cody is on day four hundred and forty-five of his sentence. Easter Sunday is April first this year and Mama is hosting the second annual Easter dinner for six. Same crew as last year. I am cooking the main again — this time the recipe is a slow-roasted lamb shoulder with a mint-and-lemon gremolata, the most ambitious main I have attempted yet. The shoulder was on sale at Walmart at $4.99 a pound, the cheapest lamb price of the year, and the four-pound piece I bought is brining in the fridge.
And the recipe Saturday was floating taco bowls with creamy lime dressing. The recipe is a Mel’s Kitchen Cafe one and the kid-style novelty of the dish — small flour tortillas pressed into oven-safe ramekins and baked into edible bowls — was the part I wanted to try. The technique works.
The math: a pack of medium flour tortillas $1.49, a pound of ground beef from the markdown $1.99, a packet of taco seasoning $0.49, lettuce, tomato, mexican blend cheese, sour cream, lime, garlic, fresh cilantro. Total: about $5.40 for four bowls fed Mama and me with two leftover.
The technique is the inverted-ramekin bake. You preheat the oven to 375. You drape a flour tortilla over an upturned oven-safe ramekin (a small custard cup, mug, or even a balled piece of foil works). The tortilla settles around the ramekin shape. You bake the inverted-ramekin-tortillas on a sheet pan for ten minutes until the tortilla is crisp and holds the bowl shape. You let them cool, lift off the ramekin, and the tortilla holds its bowl form.
You fill with seasoned ground beef cooked with the taco packet, shredded lettuce, diced tomato, shredded cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and a drizzle of the creamy lime dressing (sour cream, lime juice, lime zest, garlic, salt). The bowl is the kind of thing kids on Pinterest go nuts for, and that, I have decided, is going to be the second cake-or-cake-equivalent kid-job centerpiece if Mrs. Henderson’s grandson Eli ever asks for a taco-themed birthday party.
Mama said, eating Saturday at lunch, baby, this is the kind of lunch that thinks it is a craft project. She is right. The novelty is the point.
The recipe is below. The trick is the inverted-ramekin bake — drape the tortilla over the upturned ramekin and bake until crisp.
Street Corn Salad
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 6 ears fresh corn, kernels cut off the cob (or 4 cups frozen corn, thawed)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- Juice of 2 limes (about 3 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese (or grated Parmesan)
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Roast the corn. Heat olive oil or butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add corn kernels in a single layer and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until charred in spots. If using frozen corn, make sure it’s fully thawed and patted dry before roasting so it chars instead of steams.
- Make the dressing. In a large bowl, whisk together mayo, lime juice, chili powder, smoked paprika, and minced garlic until smooth.
- Combine. Add the roasted corn to the dressing and toss until every kernel is coated. Fold in the crumbled cotija (or Parmesan) and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.
- Chill and serve. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. The salad tastes best cold and keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days — it gets better as it sits.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 145 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 16g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 180mg