Crudité Platter

Daria Souvorova

30 minutes
serves: variable, dressing recipes make about 2 cups each

This weekend, I had some of my closest friends over to share a meal that I have been talking about for months! Nico’s parents sent me duck confit last Christmas, and I have been hoarding it and planning to make a Cassoulet. Finally, the weather turned and it was time to cook my cassoulet!

To start off our beautiful meal, I wanted to have something light. Cassoulet is a rather heavy dish with 5 different types of pork and duck meats swimming in a sea of beans. I know we needed some fresh veggies to start off our meal and to offset all of the duck fat in the main course.

In comes Crudités! The harvest season seems a bit longer this year, due to the strange weather, so the farmer’s market is still awash with beautiful fall vegetables. I wanted to showcase their beauty and color. You can use any variety of veggies that you can get your hands on. Our platter had 2 varieties of radishes, green beans, Persian cucumbers, carrots, radicchio, baby bell peppers, asparagus, and some pistachios for crunch. We served our veggies with two sauces, a homemade aioli and homemade Caesar dressing.

The platter was beautiful and crisp, fun to look at and a really great way to start out meal.

Check back for our Cassoulet recipe and our recipe for Baba au Rhum with a Marscapone Whipped Cream in the coming days!

Ingredients:

• • • aioli:
    • 8 egg yolks
    • 3 tbsp dijon mustard
    • 6 cloves finely minced garlic
    • 1/4 cup lemon juice
    • 1 cup olive oil
    • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
    • salt and pepper
    • Caesar dressing:
    • 1 egg, boiled for 1 minute
    • 1 cup olive oil
    • 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
    • 5 anchovy fillets, ground/mashed
    • 3 cloves garlic, mashed
    • 3 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
    • 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
    • 1/8 tsp Tabasco or hot sauce
    • 1/8 tsp Worcestershire
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • crudités:
    • variety of fresh veggies

1. For the aioli: Place egg yolks, mustard, garlic, and lemon juice in a bowl. Blend with immersion blender.
2. Slowly pour oil in as you are blending, stopping occasionally to prevent separation.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. For the Caesar dressing: Blend egg in a tall cup with immersion blender.
5. Slowly add oil and continue to blend.
6. Add remaining ingredients, blend until even.
7. Season with salt and pepper. Adjust seasoning if needed, sometimes I like a bit more lemon juice.
8. Sauces can be prepared a few days in advance.
9. Wash and dry all of the veggies. Peppers, radishes, and such can be left as is with their stems/leaves left on.
   Carrots should be peeled, with their greens trimmed.
   Radicchio can be sliced into thin wedges.
   Snap off the stem end of the green beans.
   Slice the cucumbers into four lengthwise.
   Trim the ends off the asparagus.
10. I prepare everything a few hours in advance and then mist with water once or twice to keep everything looking fresh. Cover with a damp towel in the fridge before serving.