The French appetizer of raw vegetables served with vinaigrette or another dipping sauce is crudités.
Crudités are usually served as an hors d'oeuvre, with vegetables presented whole, sliced, or cut into sticks. Common choices include carrots, celery, cucumber, radishes, bell peppers, fennel, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, and baby corn. The vegetables may be accompanied by vinaigrette, though other dips can also be used.
The word means “raw things.” It comes through Middle French from the Latin crudus, meaning raw, uncooked, or rough. That name distinguishes crudités from cooked vegetable dishes such as ratatouille, a simmered preparation of vegetables from southern France.
Crudités are often confused with a specific recipe, but they are better understood as a serving style or category. The selection of vegetables and sauce is flexible, making the dish suitable for casual gatherings, cocktail parties, and formal French meals. Pissaladière is a savory onion tart, tapenade is an olive-based spread, and neither belongs to the raw-vegetable appetizer category.