The once-overlooked crudité has undergone a gourmet transformation, gracing upscale menus with vibrant displays of seasonal vegetables and artisanal dips.
Oh, crudité, the obligatory party snack that no one seems to like. At the end of the night—when the cocktail meatballs have long been consumed and the shrimp ring has been left for dead—there always seems to be a plate full of mediocre raw vegetables and a miscellaneous grocery store dip at full tide. Historically an afterthought to squeeze in something less indulgent, or an easy way to round out a spread…but perhaps no longer? Recently the humble snack has found some elevation as it’s started to dot the appetizer section of impressive menus. Chef’s are seeing the dish’s potential to showcase eye-catching, crown jewel vegetables.
Now, when ordering crudité at The Grill uptown in New York, Veronika, across town, or Botanica in LA, you can expect a bounty of precious seasonal vegetables that are often gloriously served over ice to preserve their freshness. To accompany them, the grainy, gloopy dips of yesterday are no longer. We’re now blessed with saffron aiolis, thai curry flavored or in whipped butternut squash based varieties. The most show stopping spread I’ve experienced to date has been at Marcus Samuelsson’s newbie Metropolis. Composed of at least a dozen different vegetables, the Farmer Market Platter has Union Square Market’s best raw, pickled, blanched, and grilled. When I last visited, I counted castelfranco radicchio, jimmy nardellos peppers, romanesco, and bok choy artfully plated in the ice. As I took a pickled kumato tomato and dipped it in a luscious peanut dip, I thought to myself, this is luxury.
Using raw or cured vegetables in meals has existed for centuries, and many of today’s best crudités chefs are taking inspiration from different lineages. Provence’s grand aioli is a common reference. It’s a classic summer dish normally composed of blanched vegetables, some gently steamed fish, and a vat of extra garlicky aioli. In Northern Thailand, there’s the spicy chili dip nam prik, that’s served with raw green beans, cucumbers, and cabbage. Stateside, the Midwestern relish tray has been a staple appetizer of Wisconsin supper clubs for at least a century (and is currently making a comeback at New York’s Partridge). The case could even be made with Korean banchan, Middle Eastern Mezze, and Swiss fondue.
Several years ago we saw innovation in the form of the bread basket. It went from stale baguette to homemade focaccia and milk bread. Now, with chefs more carefully sourcing their vegetables, perhaps the crudité is a way to give exciting farmer’s market finds their due? Surely the world will soon know what I already do: that a dollop of coconut sour cream, some purple Ninja radishes, and a few penny-sized tokyo turnips can be the star of the show, too.