Crudité 🥒🥕

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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: 

• 16 Drop-Dead Gorgeous Crudités Platters

• Platters and Boards: Beautiful, Casual Spreads for Every Occasion

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