Stove Top Croutons
Quick, tasty and a great way to use stale bread and pantry items and they can easily be made vegan. This is what we use to make Caesar Salad along with the dressing here.
Fat and heat are what transforms a stale piece of bread into a crunchy nugget of yumminess. These are so much better than any store-bought crouton that I almost want to give them another name.
- baguette or other bread, stale or not (we used 2c and did not remove the crusts but you can if you like)
- olive oil (we used about 1 1/2 T)
- parsley, chopped (we used about 3T, can sub other fresh herbs here, like basil, dill or cilantro)
- garlic, peeled and minced (we used 1 clove)
- finely grated parmesan cheese, optional (we used about 3T, omit for vegan version)
- salt & pepper (to taste)
- "nooch", nutritional yeast
- dried herbs (oregano, thyme, basil)
- spices (cayenne, paprika, ground cumin, zaatar, sumac, garam masala)
Heat a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan with a little bit still sloshing around - if you add too much right off the bat your croutons will be greasy but you need enough oil to make them tasty so start with a small amount and you can add more as needed.
Toss the bread in the pan with the oil and keep them moving, if you don't keep it moving you may get one piece that absorbs all the oil and the others end up dry. You also don't want the bread to burn - although at this temperature that shouldn't be a problem.
When the bread cubes are nicely toasted, turn off the heat. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix - err on the side of undersalting if you are adding the parmesan because it is salty too. Mix the parsley, cheese and garlic together and toss them into the still-hot-but-off-the-heat pan. Mix it all together.
Leave your croutons to cool down. Do not put them on your salad until they are room temperature or they will wilt your greens!
