I’m always pleased to find croutons in my salad. I love the extra hint of flavor and the additional crunch. However, what I don’t care for is struggling to stick my fork into the commonly crunchy croutons, they seem to either crack or stubbornly stay whole but rarely accept the fork graciously.
The past couple times we visited my parents, my dad made a salad that included a tasty and practical alternative to the standard crouton. It’s basically a crumble to top your salad. It’s made from day old baguette; it’s always good to have a plan for that bread you couldn’t finish in time. The Crumble has a nice crunch with a bit of flavor and it scoops up easily with your salad bites. The ingredients are simple and it takes little time to prepare.
Ingredients :: bread, butter, kosher salt, garlic, and nutritional yeast.
The nutritional yeast is my addition to the way my dad makes it… I’m always looking for excuses to use it and it works nicely with this concept!
You will need about 6-8 inches of a standard baguette to yield 1+ cup bread crumbs. The loaf should be slightly hardened. Use a coarse grater to create your crumbles. This step, according to me, is not very much fun but it doesn’t take long and I believe it’s worth the small amount of effort.
In a frying pan over low heat melt 3 tablespoons of butter and add 1 clove of crushed garlic, cook for a moment until garlic mellows and begins to turn golden. Add your breadcrumbs to the garlic butter and stir. Add kosher salt to taste and 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast to the mix as well. Fry up the mixture over medium heat until crumbles are golden brown and crispy. Serve these crumbles mixed into and on top of your salad right off the stove for best result.
This is a really simple addition that adds a nice texture to your salad. To make a crumble all you really need are breadcrumbs and butter. Salt, garlic, and nutritional yeast are optional but a delicious addition. Imagine what else could be added to something like this!
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