vobro crouton

...that's Michael Voltaggio to be exact. Love him or hate him, one thing's for certain - this season's Top Chef winner can cook. His confidence (or arrogance) was amplified tenfold by Bravo but he showed us some really creative foods this year.

I needed something to serve my aubergine caviar with for my Rx Christmas party and instead of buying bread sticks or crackers, I made these pita chip looking croutons instead. This was used as a garnish for Michael's Nitro Gazpacho and it's made using regular ol' white bread. The crusts are cut off, the bread is flattened and it's cut into triangular shapes to give you crispy little crackers. It take a little work making all of these but if you're going to serve them as a chip, make a lot because they go quick.

VoBro Crouton

By Michael Voltaggio

Ingredients:

- loaf of white bread

- extra-virgin olive oil

- salt

1) Slice off the crusts from all sides of the bread. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2) Flatten thin with a rolling pin

3) Cut into triangular shapes

4) Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and rub olive oil over the foil to prevent the croutons from sticking

5) Place the bread triangles on the foil and brush olive oil on top. Season lightly with sea/rock salt

6) Place another cookie sheet on top and bake in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes until golden and crisp. Set to cool until needed. Use as a crouton on top of soups or chip for dips.

(make lots because the batch I made went quick)