We're not talking about bread bowls or stuffed tomatoes here. Those you eat. This is the idea of putting soup, sorbet, or salad into the shell of a fruit or vegetable you might otherwise discard.
Get our thoughts and tell us yours, below...
We love the "In the Kitchen With" feature over at design*sponge and saw last week's recipe for a chilled avocado soup, photographed (beautifully) in the scooped-out shell of the avocado. You can see it here:
We're thinking the edges of the avocado "bowl" would start to turn brown pretty quickly, but even so, a very pretty presentation. It reminded us of some frozen Italian ices we've seen in the grocery store that come packaged in real orange and lemon shells, like the photo above.
We think the idea is pretty, especially if you are only serving a few people (no scooping out 24 lemons, thank you). It could work with acorn squash, any type of citrus, even walnut shell halves, if you want to place a little amuse bouche inside. Plus, less dishes to wash.
We picked up a few tips in our browsing:
Freeze the "bowls" if you can. They'll become more rigid and keep their shape better. If you are adding ice cream or a chilled soup, this works out well.
Slice a bit off the bottom. Cut off a little disk to create a flat surface, so your bowl isn't rolling around.
Leave some flesh on thin skinned bowls. For example, with an avocado, the skin isn't as thick and rigid as a lemon's, so leave a little border of meat rather than tear the side.
Anyone have any more tips? What do you think of this technique?
Related: On Eating First with Our Eyes: How Important is Presentation at Home?
(Image: Flickr member mistersnappy, licensed under Creative Commons)
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I think it's attractive but probably too fussy for my kind of entertaining. I might try it anyway. I think my monthly book club shows up more to see what I'm going to experiment with next than to actually talk about the books. *rejoices over willing guinea pigs*
Looks really nice. Would be great for a wedding or big, fancy party.
it's very "mid-century supper club"
pretty!
I think the avocados and oranges pictured look bad, but I think it can be done well, especially with acorn squash.
Filling citrus shells with sorbet is probably one of the easiest "fancy" desserts to make. Because you can buy the sorbet if you don't want to make it, and hollowing out the shells is simple! And it looks so elegant.
When I was in high school and went to Paris I sat at a sidewalk cafe and used my itty bit of French to order something called "l'orange glacee" I had no idea what I was getting for my best friend and me. This is what it was--an orange half stuffed with orange sorbet & a mint leaf. Were we two little gals from rural South Carolina were wowed!!!
I think that this is great for citrus fruit because you get the aroma of the rind in addition to the look. It enhances the experience in multiple ways.
The avocado presentation might have been better if it had been chunkier, fuller, or mixed with something else. It looks too pureed.
Can I say "both"?