Crumb coatings make everything better

My husband and I have a running joke that the only thing that cannot be improved by deep-frying is iceberg lettuce. What makes deep frying so special? One reason is the breading or coating that adds a pleasant crunch to whatever you are cooking. A recent email from Australian Gourmet Traveller reminded me of this truism with an email that was titled “Everything tastes better when crumbed.”

Of course one needn’t deep fry to make the most of a crumb coating, as there are also great recipes that utilize a crumb coating or topping in the oven. Another excellent feature of crumb coatings is that there are many gluten-free and vegan options. If you are thinking of exploring the EYB Library for items with a delicious crunchy crust, you might have to use a few keywords to find it, as authors use different terms to describe the dish (and sometimes, as in the case of schnitzel, there is no descriptive catchall word).

You can start with the terms crumbed or coated, both of which return a lot of terrific recipes. The words breaded or crusted get tricky because the Library searches for the root word and you get a lot of extraneous results. Using filters to narrow down to main course or side dish and to ingredient will usually get you pointed in the right direct. Here are a few recipes to get you in the crumb-coating mood:

• Parmesan crusted chicken from The Enchanted Cook
• Garlicky crumb-coated broccoli from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan
• Cornflake-coated baked French toast from Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2017
• Chicken rye schnitzel with mustard sauce from A Bird in the Hand by Diana Henry (pictured above)
• Breaded fried pork chops from Serious Eats
• Pistachio-crusted whole roasted cauliflower with pistachio cream sauce from Snixy Kitchen
• Crumbed crab rice paper rolls with green-Sriracha mayo [Amy Hamilton] from Australian Gourmet Traveller Cookbook 2018