Parmesan Fricco Salad Baskets By Annie Copps

Okay, listen up… you want people to think you are a culinary genius? This is a super-simple, very beautiful, and delicious twist on salads that will have everyone at the table asking "how'd she do it?"

Okay so the twist here is sort of a Willy Wonka bit of fun in that you can eat the salad bowl you put your greens into. The idea is a traditional Italian cheese preparation called fricco.

All you do is heat a non-stick frying pan and sprinkle cheese into a thin round and cook it for a few minutes—once it melts and begins to brown underneath remove it with a wide spatula and drape the soft cheese over a water glass or muffin tin and let it cool—there you go, you've got a crunchy cheese cup into which you can put just about any salad into.

Oh, and don't splurge on high quality Parmigiano Reggiano for this—bagged, pre-shredded parmesan works best. And like pancakes, you may struggle with the first one, but once you get the hang of it, this unique presentation will become part of your repertoire and I want full credit; okay, it can be our secret.