Hot Vegetable Molds

Vegetable molds are usually made from a purée, whether plain, layered with another purée or mixed with other diced, grated or sliced vegetables. The purée is often bound with eggs or béchamel sauce, or occasionally with breadcrumbs. Some vegetable molds are bound with a mousseline of meat or fish. The final dishes are often named for the containers in which they are molded, for example a timbale, which is a small cylindrical mold, while vegetable terrines or loaves are much larger and usually more elaborate, producing many slices, each patterned with color. Small vegetable molds, too, may hide a “surprise” such as a mushroom or artichoke heart in the middle.