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📍 Introduction:
What is crudité? It’s an assortment of beautifully cut vegetables & a dip or sauce to pair them with. A few reasons why crudité is fab:
One beautiful platter can replace the need to make multiple appetizers
Healthy (so many raw veggies!)
Stores easily (can keep components in jars or Tupperware for up to a week)
Crowd pleaser - kids, vegetarians, health nuts all love it
An ideal way to practice your knife skills 💪🔪
Great for hosting - can prepare ahead
Ideal for a pre-dinner snack - filling, nutritious, healthy
Pretty! Nothing like a big platter of different colored veggies
Easy to save leftovers for later & spruce up with a few additions
Can be dressed up or down (e.g., as simple as cut carrots & celery, or as decadent as adding fried zucchini, nuts, cheese, crackers, olives, TBD!)
“Is a blank canvas for creativity - or leftovers” - use up whatever you have - jams, cheese, meats, olives
Leftover crudites (which often include items like carrots, celery and peppers) can easily be diced up and incorporated into a soup
✅ Instructions:
Wash & prep lots of veggies
Add a creamy dip or dressing
Add something salty (optional)
Add something sweet (optional)
✨ Variations/Inspiration
Crunchy veggies: carrots, cucumber, snap peas, celery, radish
Soft vegetables: tomatoes, olives, green beans, squash, zucchini, asparagus, endive, bell peppers
Creamy dip: hummus, white bean, baba ganoush, pico de gallo, guacamole, mango salsa, spinach artichoke, ranch, cheese spread
Dressings: vinaigrette, green goddess, balsamic
Cooked vegetables: cauliflower, broccoli
Salty: cheese (e.g., feta, cheddar, brie), olives
Sweet: fruit (e.g., apples & grapes), dried fruit (e.g., apricots, sun-dried tomatoes), baguette
Other: nuts, diced or sliced salumi
📝 Notes, Tips & Tricks:
Pronounced “crew-dee-tay” in French
While a “proper” crudité tray only contains raw vegetables, it’s okay to steam or blanch the tough ones for some variety.
Since this is a simple dish, presentation is important. Consider contrasting colors and textures as you arrange.
For cooked veggies, you want to make sure they aren’t soggy. We recommend steaming them or blanching (see the lesson on blanching & shocking in “How to Boil Water”)
Store leftover crudité in the fridge - either submerged in water or wrapped in a damp paper towel/napkin inside a plastic bag
🎓 Further Study:
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