American
Crisp Cottage Cheese Shell Tacos
Oven-baked cottage cheese rounds become lacy, foldable taco shells filled with cumin-lime beef, shredded lettuce, tomato, avocado, and a sharp spoonful of salsa.
4 servings · 20 minutes prep · 48 minutes cook
Ingredients
Cottage Cheese Shells
- 2 cups full-fat cottage cheese, drain to about 400 g, plus or minus 15 g
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
Beef Filling
- 12 ounces 90% lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon mild chili powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Fresh Toppings
- 1 cup finely shredded iceberg lettuce
- 1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced
- 1 medium avocado, diced
- 1/4 cup salsa roja
Directions
Shape and Bake the Shells
- Arrange oven racks in the upper and lower thirds and heat the oven to 375°F / 190°C. Drain the cottage cheese in a fine-mesh sieve for 10 minutes, then blend with the egg, cornstarch, garlic powder, and one-quarter of the kosher salt until mostly smooth. After draining, target about 400 g cottage cheese. The blended mixture should mound softly and spread without running. Portion and bake one test shell—the first of the recipe’s eight shells—while keeping the remaining batter in the blender. If the test puddles beyond the traced round, drain the remaining mixture for 5 minutes more before portioning the other seven shells.
- After the test shell passes, spread the remaining mixture into seven thin 5-inch rounds on two parchment-lined pans, leaving at least 1 inch between them and 1/2 inch from every pan edge. Bake for 20 to 24 minutes, rotating each pan front to back and swapping the pans between the upper and lower racks halfway through, until deeply golden at the edges and dry at the centers.
- Cool on the pans for 2 minutes. Peel each warm round from the parchment and drape it over a clear narrow bar of the {{tool:wire-rack|wire rack}} to form a taco curve; let set for 3 minutes.
Cook the Filling
- Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it into small crumbles, for 7–9 minutes. Stir in the ground cumin, chili powder, and remaining salt; cook until the beef reaches 160°F / 71°C. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice.
Fill and Serve
- Divide the beef among the shells. Add the dry iceberg lettuce, roma tomatoes, avocado, and no more than 1 teaspoon salsa per taco. Serve immediately.
