Better Than Croutons?

The world is clearly divided into two camps: sweet lovers and salty, crunchy (and fat) lovers. I admit that I fall into the second category. Chocolate and other sweets are nice to have but please don't tempt me with a really big bag of potato chips or a basket of crispy onion rings.

Or a salty, garlicky, buttery crouton. I can't bear it. I used to make them with leftover baguettes but they're pretty much gone from my diet these days. And, it's such a shame because they're perfect on salads and as soup toppers.

But, I've been finding some very cool, quite unusual replacements for them. All offer that satisfying crunch the savory fan adores, but with very different flavors. Let me introduce you to three:

Freeze Dried Corn

How smart is the new Savory Spice Shop in Encinitas to put these on the check out counter as samples. You can't not try them and once you do, well, you're hooked. Yes, they're little corn kernels, but the process of freeze drying them has rendered them light and airy and sweet as corn on the cob. They're sort of the whole kernel version of popcorn. Not only are they perfect for scattering on a salad or over soup, but they mix and match beautifully with toasted nuts and dried fruit for a trail mix or you can add them to corn muffins or corn bread or other baked goods.

Roasted Coconut Chips

Credit Mom with finding these while we were shopping at her neighborhood Trader Joe's. I've never tasted anything like these dry-roasted slips of coconut. The flavor is enhanced with just a bit of salt and sugar, fresh coconut milk, and coconut juice. I enjoyed a sprinkling of them last night on a bowl of lentils. The crunch complemented the creamy texture of the dal. But they are salad and soup worthy--not to mention ice cream or, again, trail mix.

Moong Dal

If lentils could be converted into Rice Krispies, these little puffed-up gems would snap, crackle, and pop. I randomly picked up this snack bag at Himalayan Bazaar, a little gem of an Indian market in La Mesa next door to sister restaurant Himalayan Cuisine (more about the market in next week's Local Bounty on the San Diego Magazine website). In fact, I can imagine making "dal krispy" treats with these. They're crunchy and just a bit salty and oh so light.

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Spring Garlic with Purple Sprouting Broccoli

As I sit here writing, the weather in San Diego is cold and a bit blustery. It's the middle of February, after all. Underground, white bulbs of garlic are slowly maturing, but at Chino Farms, some of these bulbs--still slender and tender--have been harvested, perhaps to thin out the crop. They're treasured by chefs and home cooks alike, as a harbinger of spring and as a perfect ingredient for a wide spectrum of dishes that call for lighter flavoring than robust, mature garlic provides.

Spring garlic, or green garlic, look rather like green onions/scallions.

Here, you can see that they're just beginning to develop a shapely bulb. Look closely, though, and you can also see that their green stems are tougher than a scallion. Cut them off and save for flavoring stock;      you won't want to use them in a sauté.

Inside, these very young spring garlic, still haven't developed individual cloves. Check back at Chino in a few weeks and you'll see cloves just forming. And their flavor will be slightly more pungent.

Use these babies as you would mature garlic, taking into account their milder flavor. You can also substitute them for scallions or leeks. They're delicious roasted, minced into a vinaigrette, turned into a sauce or soup, or added to sautéed vegetables or a stir fry.

While I was at Chino's I also bought some vibrant purple sprouting broccoli, so last night I gently sautéed thin slices of the spring garlic in extra virgin olive oil to release the flavor, then added the trimmed broccoli with its stems and leaves, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt. Once the vegetables were "this close" to finished I squeezed in juice from a Meyer lemon from my garden, let the mixture caramelize a little, then took it off the heat. To get a little crunch and sweetness, I topped it off with some freeze-dried corn kernels I'd found at Savory Spice Shop in Encinitas. The result was a colorful, sweet medley of textures and flavor. Spring is coming.

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