Leafing through cookbooks, one can often stumble upon the expression: “put the appetizer on croutons”. What it is? If we answer that these are pieces of bread, then we will not say anything. Crutons are more than just a sliced ​​loaf or Borodinsky. They have their own taste, which blends perfectly with the intended appetizer, pleasant crispy texture and aroma. These are not toasts that should be neutral. It’s not croutons, much less croutons, although croutons are fried and dried.
About the simple secret of their preparation, as well as about what and how to submit them according to etiquette - read about this in the article.
History of croutons
It is known that the foundations of European cuisine were laid by the French. This gourmet people came up with many dishes that have now become pan-European. Crutons are one of them. It is interesting that the French word "crouton" itself means "pink" in the translation. But now, slicing a baguette for croutons, kraiukhi just do not use, and in general, they clean the bread from the crust. When it was just the beginning, economical but conceited Frenchmen used humpbacks as a pedestal for some extraordinary dessert or appetizer. Such a pedestal of bread visually enlarged the dish and gave it calories. Thus, a piece of cheese or a coffee spoon of foie gras provided the guest with a full aperitif. But later fried pieces of bread crumb began to be added to salads, cream soups and broth. Kruton has become an integral part of the buffet table due to the special aesthetics of serving.
Etiquette
When you see an unfamiliar dish in the restaurant’s menu, do not exclaim to yourself: “Oh, croutons! What is it? I will not order them, because I don’t know how to eat them! ” These small snack sandwiches should be picked up by hand. They eat them without a knife and fork. If you are at a banquet, the waiter himself puts the canapes on the edge of the plate using special tweezers or a spatula. At buffet receptions, croutons are served on a small tray or dish covered with a linen napkin. There are very tiny toasts - no more than two centimeters. Skewers are inserted into such croutons - cupronickel, plastic or wooden. Then it is convenient to take them to guests. Skewers are also needed for tall croutons decorated with olives, a slice of hard cheese or a slice of lemon. There are snack sandwiches of various funny shapes: crescents, rhombuses, ovals, hearts, stars.
Crutons: recipe
Previously, special bread was baked for these canapés. But in our conditions, anything will do - white, gray, black; wheat, rye, wholemeal. The main thing is that the bread does not break up (therefore, with prunes, seeds and other inserts it does not fit) and is in good harmony with the snack. First, the slices are dried in a toaster or oven. Then spread with butter. There is another way to cook croutons. They can be fried in a pan in butter or olive oil (or a mixture thereof), like croutons. If you are dealing with a French baguette, simply cut the skin of bread with a sharp knife or a special grater. Thus, you get round croutons. Cut large pieces of crumb into several pieces. To do this, you can use a metal cookie cutter. Try to make small croutons. We already said that these are snack sandwiches, but how they differ from toasts - no. It is for its size. One side of a true square cruton should be no more than six centimeters.
For salads
Toasted slices of bread crumb are often used to make salads. Here croutons act not as a stand for meat, fish, cheese or vegetable assortment, but as a full-fledged ingredient in the dish. The most popular salad in the modern restaurant world with croutons is Caesar. Let's try to cook it. First you need to make exactly croutons. Peel and finely chop a clove of garlic. From four slices of a white loaf (preferably yesterday), cut the crust, cut them into small cubes. Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into the pan. Fry the garlic, and then the crumb until golden brown. We spread them on a napkin, add oil. Fry the chicken breast cut into small pieces. We cover the salad bowl with leaves of "Romano" or Peking cabbage. We put chicken on them. Preparing the sauce: beat the egg in a mixer, a spoonful of French mustard, garlic clove squeezed through a press, juice of half a lemon, a couple of drops of Worcestershire sauce, 4 pieces of chopped anchovies. When a homogeneous mass is formed, add 40 g of grated parmesan, half a glass of olive oil and continue to whisk a little more. After that, pour the chicken sauce. Garnish the salad with slices of parmesan. Sprinkle with croutons before serving.
For first courses
Similarly, croutons are made for broths and cream soups. They can be made with a neutral taste. Just fry the bread crumb in butter. But you can give these crackers their unique flavor. Such an additive will add piquancy to too fatty broths, it will be very useful for pumpkin or mashed potato soup. We have already prepared garlic croutons for Caesar salad. Let's cook herbal crackers now. Free from the crust and cut the white loaf into cubes. We pass six cloves of garlic through a press and mix with 50 ml of olive oil, a pinch of salt and black pepper. Pour bread cubes with this mixture. Mix gently. Sprinkle basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, but you can also use the ready-made mixture: Provencal or Italian herbs. We preheat the oven to 200-210 C. We shift the bread cubes to the baking sheet in an even layer, set to bake for half an hour, sometimes turning them over so that they are evenly browned.
Popcorn substitute
It is easy to guess for those who at least once in their life have tried croutons that this is a great snack for beer. You can flavor them to your taste with cheese, salt, bacon, garlic or herbs. There is nothing better than an ice foamy drink and a match of your favorite team on TV! Unlike factory crackers, croutons do not contain dyes or preservatives. And even a bachelor inexperienced in cooking can cook them.