STAR SPANGLED CRUDITÉS BOARD

7/2/2022

Star Spangled Vegetable Board

Crudités is the new charcuterie! Treat your family and friends to a fun and healthy Star Spangled Crudités Board, filled with all your favorite fresh summer vegetables that sparkle with liveliness and color! With flavorful creamy dips served for dipping, this is perfect for the Fourth of July and patriotic celebrations. Hip hip horray for Star Spangled Crudités!

Star Spangled Vegetable Board

PERFECT VEGETABLES FOR A FOURTH OF JULY CRUDITÉS GRAZING BOARD:

Cherry Tomatoes
Fresh Sugar Snap Peas
English Cucumber Slices
Crinkle Cut Carrots Chips
Watermelon Radishes
Broccoli Florets
Sparkler Radishes
Cauliflower Florets – White, Green, Purple or even Orange!
Baby Sweet Peppers (red, yellow and orange)
Daikon Radishes – perfect for cutting into sweet little stars!
Baby Corn (simple and sweet for a Fourth of July twist)

Star Spangled Vegetable Board

TIPS & TRICKS FOR THE BEST STAR SPANGLED CRUDITÉS BOARD:

Use fresh produce that is in season and try to buy organic produce if you can. You may have fresh summer vegetables from your garden ready to pick right now, but the local farmers market are also a great place to start your search. Trader Joes and Whole Foods are always a great option as well - they always have a great selection of organic produce. If you're making this for a crowd, Costco is my go-to for fresh organic produce!
Look for vibrant, rich colors! I'm having a heck of a time finding Watermelon Radishes this year - grab them if you are lucky enough to find them! When sliced up, the beautiful bright pink and lime green is so vibrant and festive – and remind me of fireworks! You may also be able to find Sparkler Radishes for something fun and new!
If you're including green vegetables (such as asparagus, green beans or sugar snap peas), blanch the veggies for about a minute to bring out the color.
Include as many different types of vegetables as you can! To shake things up, you can use roasted or pickled vegetables as well.
Include at least two different dips or spreads. We love fresh dill dip, spinach dip, soft cheese spreads, seasoned cream cheese, or any variety of humus - Beet Humus adds a blast of purple color and is so good!
Curly-leafed lettuce (endive, radicchio or live lettuce) make great borders for your platter.
You can wash, rinse and prepare your vegies ahead of time and store them in small storage containers, covered with a damp paper towel the fridge until you're ready to assemble.
Trimmed and cut veggies keep surprisingly well in the refrigerator for days with only one exception - tomatoes! Tomatoes will become mushy is refrigerated.
For premium freshness, prepare your platter within 2 hours of party time, or prepare and wrap your platter in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator until you are ready to serve.

Star Spangled Vegetable Board

TELL ME MORE ABOUT RADISHES - WHO KNEW THERE WERE SO MANY DIFFERENT VARIETIES?

RED RADISH - These are the common radishes sold at most grocery stores all the time, and have bright red skin and white flesh, with a crisp, peppery flavor.
WATERMELON RADISH – These radishes don’t look unusual on the outside, but slice open the white and light green skin, and you’ll find a vibrant pink interior that looks very much like the colors of watermelon! Watermelon radishes have a sweeter flavor with just a tiny bite, and are at their peak in spring and fall.
DAIKON RADISH – These Asian radishes are very popular because of their mild and sweet flavor, and you can find them in white, pink, purple, green or red. The colorful varieties are typically available in the fall and winter, with the white variety available year-round.
SPARKLER RADISH – These colorful radishes are two-toned with either a dark red or purple top and a creamy white base, with a vibrant purple interior that also looks like fireworks when sliced! They are crunchy and peppery and look great on a crudité boards, and typically in season late winter to early summer.
FRENCH BREAKFAST RADISH – These spicy radishes have ombré skin in shades of red to pink to white. They're long and thin, and in season in winter through spring.
GREEN RADISHES – These radishes have a dark green exterior and interior, and taste crisp and slightly spicy. You can find them in season spring thru fall.
EASTER RADISHES – These are typically available during spring. Often sold in a beautiful bunch, these are actually different types of tiny white, pink, purple and red radishes that are sold together – tiny and cute!

Star Spangled Vegetable Board

WHAT ARE THE BEST DIPS & SPREADS TO SERVE WITH A CRUDITÉS BOARD?

Green Herb Dip
Cream Cheese with Herbs & Garlic
Fresh Spinach Dip
Fresh Dill Dip
Roasted Pine Nut Hummus
Beet Hummus (a beautiful violet shade and it tastes so sweet & good!)
Fried Pick & Ranch Dip (Meier makes this fabulous dip that we all love!)
Street Corn Dip
Pimento Cheese Dip
Tzatziki Dip
Fresh Spinach Artichoke Parmesan Dip

Star Spangled Vegetable Board

STAR SPANGLED CRUDITÉS VEGETABLE BOARD

Star Spangled Vegetable Board

INGREDIENTS:
The secret of a great grazing board is to find fresh flavors and textures that work for you and your family and friends. Mix and match your favorite cheeses, vegetables, meats, fruits, nuts and condiments for something wonderful and unique every time! For a great Fourth of July Crudités Vegetable Board, I focused on fresh organic vegetables and savory dips – pick and choose your favorites!

FRUITS & VEGETABLES: A selection of fresh and seasonal vegetables gives you a nice balance of textures, flavor, and a burst of color. For my Star Spangled Crudités Board I concentrated on vegetables solely and used:

Cherry Tomatoes
Fresh Sugar Snap Peas
English Cucumber Slices
Crinkle Cut Carrots Chips
Watermelon Radishes
Broccoli Florets
Sparkler Radishes
Cauliflower Florets – White, Green, Purple or even Orange!
Baby Sweet Peppers (red, yellow and orange)
Daikon Radishes – perfect for cutting into sweet little stars!
Baby Corn (simple and sweet for a Fourth of July twist)

CREAMY DIPS & SPREADS: a selection of 1 or 2 gives you a nice balance. Something with an edge – and another that is a simple surprise:

Green Herb Dip
Cream Cheese with Herbs & Garlic
Fresh Spinach Dip
Fresh Dill Dip
Roasted Pine Nut Hummus
Beet Hummus (a beautiful violet shade and it tastes so sweet & good!)
Fried Pick & Ranch Dip (Meier makes this fabulous dip that we all love!)
Street Corn Dip
Pimento Cheese Dip
Tzatziki Dip
Fresh Spinach Artichoke Parmesan Dip

GARNISHES: In keeping with my summer theme, I kept this board simple and garnished with:

Fresh Rosemary, which smells SO GOOD!
Fresh Dill

CRACKERS & BREAD:
Herbed Crackers, Butter Crackers and Stonefire Naan Dippers and perfect served on the side!

HOW I MAKE THIS:

Choose a nice solid cutting board or wooden serving tray to create your platter - be sure to use something sturdy.
Assemble your favorites so that you know what you’re working with.
Place serving bowls for dips and spreads on platter.
Wash and pat dry the fresh vegies dry.
Arrange vegies in patterns across the platter.
Fill bowls with dips & spreads.
Tuck sprigs of fresh rosemary where you may have open spaces. Tuck fresh dill on top of Fresh Spinach Dip, and drizzle humus with olive oil and toasted pine nuts.
Start with small amounts of each item – you can always refresh your platter as time goes by!

YIELD: Perfect for a party of 4 or 20!

TIPS & TRICKS FOR THE BEST STAR SPANGLED CRUDITÉS:

Use fresh produce that is in season and try to buy organic produce if you can. You may have fresh summer vegetables from your garden ready to pick right now, but local farmers markets are also a great place to start your search. Trader Joes and Whole Foods are always a great option as well - they always have a great selection of organic produce. If you're making this for a crowd, Costco is my go-to for fresh organic produce!
Look for vibrant, rich colors! I'm having a heck of a time finding Watermelon Radishes this year - grab them if you are lucky enough to find them! When sliced up, the beautiful bright pink and lime green is so vibrant and festive – and remind me of fireworks! You may also be able to find Sparkler Radishes for something fun and new!
If you're including green vegetables (such as asparagus, green beans or sugar snap peas), blanch the veggies for about a minute to bring out the color.
Include as many different types of vegetables as you can! To shake things up, you can use roasted or pickled vegetables as well.
Include at least two different dips or spreads. We love fresh dill dip, spinach dip, soft cheese spreads, seasoned cream cheese, or any variety of humus - Beet Humus adds a blast of purple color and is so good!
Curly-leafed lettuce (endive, radicchio or live lettuce) make great borders for your platter.
You can wash, rinse and prepare your vegies ahead of time and store them in small storage containers, covered with a damp paper towel the fridge until you're ready to assemble.
Trimmed and cut veggies keep surprisingly well in the refrigerator for days with only one exception - tomatoes! Tomatoes will become mushy is refrigerated.
For premium freshness, prepare your platter within 2 hours of party time, or prepare and wrap your platter in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator until you are ready to serve.

Original recipe created by Snowflakes & Coffeecakes; published July 2022.

© SnowflakesandCoffeecakes. All images, attachments & content are copyright protected. All rights reserved. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to www.snowflakesandcoffeecakes.com for the recipe.

Tried it and loved it? Snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram @SnowflakesandCoffeecakes and by using the hashtag #SnowflakesandCoffeecakes.