Elevate your entertaining with a masterfully composed spring crudité platter. It’s perfect for sparking conversations and appetites with its visually stunning array of fresh, vibrant veggies.
Recipe Science
- Blending peas with ingredients like olive oil and lemon juice creates a smooth hummus, with the olive oil providing a creamy texture and the lemon juice adding brightness.
- The mint in the hummus contributes volatile aromatic compounds, enhancing the fresh, vibrant flavor and complementing the sweetness of the peas.
- Serving the hummus with a variety of raw vegetables offers a range of textures and flavors, while also providing fiber and nutrients, making the crudité platter a balanced and visually appealing appetizer.
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Featured Comment 3
“Thank you for this recipe. It was a perfect hummus. Your directions for using the Vitamix were appreciated because this was the first thing I made in it.”—Katie K.
Why It Works
Compared to a charcuterie board or cheese board, a fresh tray of vegetables is a healthier option. This beautiful crudité platter includes a minty pea hummus, ensuring your next gathering is an unforgettable culinary delight.
For the most flavorful result, look for seasonal ingredients like multi-colored cauliflower, beets, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, endives and asparagus. The crisp and refreshing vegetables perfectly complement the light and savory hummus.
Pea Hummus Ingredients You’ll Need
- Garlic cloves: Adds a robust, aromatic depth to the hummus when roasted.
- Canned chickpeas: Provides the creamy base and essential texture for the hummus.
- Reserved chickpea liquid: Helps achieve the desired consistency and adds extra flavor.
- Lemon juice: Adds a bright, tangy acidity that balances the richness of the tahini and olive oil.
- Tahini: Contributes a nutty, creamy element that is classic to hummus.
- Fresh shelled green peas: Brings a sweet, vibrant flavor and a lovely green color to the hummus.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: Adds a rich, smooth texture and enhances the overall flavor.
- Kosher salt: Enhances and balances all the flavors in the hummus.
- Mint leaves, cilantro leaves, and chives: These fresh herbs add a burst of freshness, a hint of sweetness, and an aromatic finish to the hummus.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Canned chickpeas: Substitute with cooked dried chickpeas for a slightly different texture and flavor.
- Reserved chickpea liquid: Use water or vegetable broth as an alternative to adjust the consistency.
- Tahini: Replace with almond butter or sunflower seed butter for a different nutty flavor.
- Fresh shelled green peas: Substitute with frozen peas, thawed, to maintain the sweet flavor and green color.
- Mint leaves: Use fresh basil or parsley for a different but still fresh and vibrant herbal note.
How to Make Minty Pea Hummus
Step 1: Roast the Garlic Cloves
To mellow out the strong, spicy flavor of raw garlic, I roast the whole, unpeeled cloves in a pan over medium heat. After about 8 minutes, the skin will brown. This adds a sweeter roasted garlic flavor to the hummus. Peel the skin before adding to the blender.
Step 2: Mix the Liquids
Canned chickpeas have a starchy liquid. Add ¼ of the reserved liquid to the blender and process until it doubles in volume, creating what’s known as aquafaba.
Process the tahini sesame paste and lemon juice, followed by the peas. This technique lightens up the hummus and adds structure.
Step 3: Add the Peas
Add the peas to the blender.
Process them at high speed until they are smooth, about 1 minute.
Step 4: Finish the Hummus
Add the chickpeas, olive oil, roasted garlic cloves, salt, mint leaves, cilantro leaves, and chives, and process until smooth. The dip will be warm after blending. This helps delicately cook the fresh peas and activate their natural starches to create a creamy and velvety dip.
Transfer the dip to a serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to assemble the vegetable crudites. This pea hummus recipe makes a generous amount, enough to feed a large group or save some for later. It can also be made ahead of time if you need to meal prep, as it stores well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Crudité Platter Tips
Choose Seasonal Vegetables
Produce at the height of its growing period has the most flavor, notably detected when enjoying it raw or as the star of a dish. I like to pick a selection from my local farmers market.
Some suggestions for vegetables in season for spring include sugar snap peas, green beans, asparagus, cauliflower (purple, orange, and romanesco), mini bell peppers, zucchini, cucumber, celery, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, beets, and lettuces like endive.
Color and Crunch
What adds the visual wow factor to a crudité platter is finding vegetables of different vibrant colors, shapes, and sizes. Most of the raw vegetables will provide a satisfying crunchy texture. Cut them into bite-sized pieces.
Cook Certain Vegetables
Feel free to pre-cook vegetables that benefit from a little heat application, like cruciferous broccoli, cauliflower, or asparagus. Spuds should not be served raw. I couldn’t help but include some fingerling potatoes to add to the vegetable crudité, making sure to boil them until tender.
To stop the cooking process, plunge any cooked vegetables into an ice-water bath. Drain well and dry with paper towels before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, crudite is a type of vegetable platter. It’s typically arranged nicely and served with a dip. It’s a healthy appetizer to share at parties or picnics. Any seasonal vegetables can be added. They should be bite-sized pieces or cut into smaller shapes, making them easier to eat as a finger food.
Crudite is a veggie plate with crispy raw or cooked vegetables with an accompanying dip. A charcuterie board comprises cured meats, cheese, bread, and crackers. Nuts, kalamata olives, or spreads can be added to complement the board.
The “Dip and Spreads” setting on a Vitamix blender is a preset smart control. The sheer force of the rapidly moving stainless steel blades heats up with time and speed, cooking raw vegetables. This particular setting progressively increases the spinning rate over a period of 1 minute, warming the ingredients.
Fresh English peas are not always available at the market as they are a springtime crop. However, frozen peas can always be found in the freezer section. Frozen peas are typically picked, shucked, and rapidly chilled to preserve their natural sugars, inevitably providing a sweeter taste. Peas that have been sitting for several weeks in the market slowly convert the sugars to starches, so they’re not as sweet.
Serve With This
If you tried this Spring Crudité Platter, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Spring Crudité with Minty Pea Hummus
Ingredients
Minty Pea Hummus
- 2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 1 cup canned chickpeas, liquid reserved
- ¼ cup reserved canned chickpea liquid
- 6 tablespoons lemon juice
- ⅓ cup tahini
- 1 cup fresh shelled green peas
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup packed mint leaves
- ¼ cup packed cilantro leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
Crudite Platter
- 8 ounces fingerling potatoes, cut in half lengthwise
- 8 ounces asparagus, trimmed to 6" long spears
- 8 ounces cauliflower florets, green and purple
- 8 ounces zucchini, cut into ¼" thick slices
- 8 ounces beets, yellow, peeled, cut into ⅛" thick slices
- 8 ounces carrots, peeled and sliced lengthwise
- 4 ounces sugar snap peas
- 4 ounces baby tomatoes
- 1 bunch radish, sliced
- 1 head belgian endive, trimmed and leaves separated
Instructions
Minty Pea Hummus
- Roast the Garlic – Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Roast the garlic cloves until the outsides are browned, turning over occasionally, about 8 minutes. Peel and set aside.
- Mix the Liquids – Lightly shake the can and drain the chickpeas in a colander, reserving ¼ cup of the liquid. Add it to the blender and process on high speed until the liquid turns white and frothy and doubles in volume, about 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and tahini and process at high speed for 1 minute.
- Add the Peas – Add the peas and process on high speed until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Finish the Hummus – Add 1 cup of chickpeas, olive oil, reserved roasted garlic cloves, salt, mint, cilantro, and chives. Process at high speed for 1 minute. Scrape the sides of the cup as needed. Process on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Season to taste. Transfer the hummus to a serving bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.
Crudité Platter
- Make an Ice Water Bath – In a large bowl, add 4 cups of water and 4 cups of ice. Set aside.
- Cook the Potatoes – Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until tender, about 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer to the ice water bath and chill for 5 minutes.
- Cook the Asparagus – Cook the asparagus in the boiling water for 30 seconds then transfer to the ice water bath to chill for 5 minutes.
- Drain and Dry – Drain the vegetables and dry them between paper towels before serving.
- Assemble the Platter – Place the bowl of hummus on a serving platter. Arrange the cooked potatoes, asparagus, cauliflower, zucchini, beets, carrots, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, radishes, and endive around the hummus. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready.
Notes
- Recipe Yields: 2 cups of hummus
- Serving Size: 2 tablespoons of hummus
- Storing: Refrigerate the hummus in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Cover and refrigerate the vegetables for up to 1 day.
- Using Frozen Peas: Defrost and drain before using.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
Maggie Morris says
Jessica,
Katie’s sister Maggie here. Katie was so happy with the recipe that I made it also. I brought it to my son and daughter-in-law who are celebrating the birth of their first baby! My son send me a text – said it was great and asked me for every ingredient in the hummus. Tim is 34 and he has never asked me about a recipe! So they loved it and I sent him the recipe.
Keep up the wonderful recipes!
Maggie
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Maggie, always a pleasure to hear from you! Congrats on the new bundle of joy, such exciting times!!! I’m so happy to hear that the family enjoyed the recipe, I hope he makes it for you next time 🙂
Katie Kruse says
Jessica,
Thank you for this recipe. It was a perfect hummus. Your directions for using the Vitamix were appreciated because this was the first thing I made in it. I have the Costco version which does not have the dip feature but with your directions it did not make a difference. Keep up the Vitamix recipes!