Crudités Platter
This is a display of raw (or blanched) vegetables and is an extremely healthy addition to any party.Traditionally served with creamy dips which make this a little less healthy. But there are certainly alternative dips that won’t hurt the heart or waistline. In addition to the very delicious (but fattening) bleu cheese dip offer a hummus.Be creative and let the artist in you come through when selecting your vegetables (keep colors in mind) as well as your serving vessels (such as platters, trays, boxes, basket(s), jars, glasses, bowls, planters (new of course), anything goes – be creative.Below is just a short list of the possibilities. Use whatever is fresh and available in the market or your favorite Farmer’s Market. Keep it colorful or go only shades of green and white or anything in between. This is a perfect item to use as an edible centerpiece which can rival any floral piece. Use your imagination and definitely think out of the box. The unexpected is always interesting. Use as many as you like or keep it very simple to just a few items.
Ingredients
- Carrots (sliced or sticks; keep in cold water when preparing ahead)
- Broccoli Florets (or purple broccoli for interest; store dry)
- Zucchini (slice or cut into sticks; rinse but store dry when preparing ahead)
- Yellow Squash (slice or cut into sticks; rinse but store dry when preparing ahead)
- Endive Leaves (slice off ends - separate leaves; to store roll leaves in a damp paper towel and keep cool)
- Celery (cut into short and skinny sticks to avoid double dipping; store in cold water before using)
- Haricots Verts (skinny green beans) (trim ends and blanch for 2 minutes then chill in ice water; store dry)
- Cauliflower (cut into small floret pieces, wash and store dry)
- Radishes (trim ends, with paring knife make petal-like cuts around radish and place in cold water)
- Cucumbers (always use English burp-less; slice as desired; circles or sticks or chunks with toothpicks)
