patty shell
- noun
- /ˈpæti ʃɛl/
- US
:
cáscara de masa
- The chef prepared mini quiches and filled the patty shell with a mixture of eggs and cheese.
Examples
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For dessert, she baked fruit tarts using a crispy patty shell filled with custard and topped with berries.
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Now, these are to fill up those patty shells.
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At the party, the savory dips were served in patty shells for a delightful appetizer.
Synonyms
1
1.6
A baked or unbaked pastry crust that holds the filling of a pie
A small puff pastry shell filled with a savory mixture and served as an appetizer
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'patty' (a small baked pastry) with 'shell' (an outer case or container): a small pastry shell used to hold fillings. This noun–noun composition and the use of 'shell' as a container are common and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should understand the MWE.
Etymology
Patty shell comes from a simple picture: a small, round pastry called a patty shaped like a little shell or 'cup' that holds a filling. That's why the name means an edible hollow case used to 'hold' savory or sweet fillings.