Blistered sweet peppers and toasted lavash pair perfectly with a dip of cashews and carrots (center).

I have this theory that crudités — now super trendy and on many restaurant menus — never wanted to be as fancy as the word sounds. Sure, a talented chef serves gorgeous asparagus spears (maybe white ones?) or radishes with their pristine, unblemished greens attached on vintage ceramics. But, for this column and in reality, if you’re just having friends over, a platter of beautiful sweet peppers or ripe tomato wedges with a simple, tasty sauce is actually a very humble thing to serve. It might say: “I like you, I like vegetables and I think you’ll like these vegetables, too.”

I’m not putting crudités in a box — they can be fancy or not — but it’s hard to deny that they are the perfect summer appetizer — and the markets are bountiful with vegetables you want to eat raw. That said, crudités platters are a solid year-round appetizer to keep in your back pocket.

There are some criteria. First, a crudités platter should have beautiful, but not necessarily “perfect” looking vegetables because, honestly, ugly veggies can sometimes taste better.

It’s also OK to have one or two non-veggies in the mix to round things out (this may seem like I’m immediately backtracking). For Blistered Sweet Peppers & Lavash With Spicy Pepper-Cashew-Carrot Dip, I very lightly and quickly blister the sweet peppers to add char flavor while keeping them crisp. In this same recipe, I call for toasted lavash: all you have to do to is throw some big pieces on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and toast them in the oven, and you’ll have the best crackers. The spicy cashew-carrot dip has a hummus-like texture, but is nuttier, spicier and sweeter.

Preserved lemon enriches mayonnaise for a cucumber and tomato plate.

That brings up another criteria: Most of the vegetables should be crisp, but not necessarily all. That way you can really taste the vegetables as-is, fresh and bright — a very good way to start a meal. I think a mix of crisp and leafy greens can be fun as in my very summer-y crudités of Tomatoes, Cucumbers & Basil With Preserved Lemon Mayonnaise. The cucumbers add crunch. The tomatoes are firm and still dippable. The basil isn’t a garnish here: It too should be dipped in with that tomato wedge.

Of course, there must be a dip — otherwise it’s just a “crude” platter, I say. Furthermore, the dip should pair with the vegetables you choose. If you’re serving multiple dips, try to make each one stand out. It can be as simple as the Preserved Lemon Mayonnaise, where I call for doctoring up store-bought mayo.

For Green Beans, Little Gem Wedges & Radishes With Roasted Apricot-Garlic Labneh, the yogurt-based sauce is still simple but takes a little more time to make with the roasting, rotating, cooling, etc. Every passing minute is worth the bit of sweet caramelized garlic and savory apricot zipped up even more with a little turmeric. I top this with a golden crispy garlic and sizzled pine nut olive oil. It’s a joy to get a bite of crispy garlic between those tender-crisp leaves.

Roasted apricots and garlic take labneh to the next level as a dip for green beans and Little Gem lettuce.

Lastly, there’s no need to have more than a couple (maybe three types) of vegetables to dip. It really is as simple as “less is more” — and do people really need to have those raw, crumbly cauliflower florets? The jicama? The Belgian endive (which has me pronouncing “ahndeev” out loud every time I see one)?

Whatever crudités you make, have fun when it comes to styling your platter. Questions I tend to ask myself are: Can these leaves or stems stay on? Will this leaf look sexy if it’s more wavy/scrunchy looking? Does the plate look “put together” or did I just plop these vegetables on here? Are there too many green vegetables on this platter or is this monochromatic theme actually cool looking? There’s not a lot of right or wrong answers here, but spend a few extra minutes enjoying the process. It’s hard not to have fun arranging a beautiful platter of the season’s best bounty.

Christian Reynoso is a chef, recipe developer and writer. Originally from Sonoma, he lives in San Francisco. Email: food@sfchronicle.com Instagram: @christianreynoso Twitter: @xtianreynoso

Nutty, full-bodied cashews, sweet carrots and fresh, fiery red Fresno chiles are simmered and pureed until smooth for a rich, “healthy” tasting crudités dip that’s like hummus or nut butter but not quite either.

3 medium carrots, sliced thinly (about 1 cup)

3 red Fresno peppers, stemmed and chopped (about ½ cup)

4 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced and separated

6 tablespoons olive oil plus more for serving

2 tablespoons lemon juice, white wine or red wine vinegar

1 pound small to medium sweet peppers

Toasted lavash, pita or flatbread for serving

In a small pot, add the cashews, carrots, Fresno peppers, the white parts of the scallion, cumin and 1 teaspoon salt. Then add just enough water to submerge most of the cashews and vegetables (about 1 cup), but no need to cover fully. Turn the heat to medium high, cover with a lid and cook, lifting the lid to stir occasionally until the cashews are soft and the carrots are falling apart, about 15-20 minutes.

While the cashew-carrot mixture is cooking, heat a large griddle pan over high heat. Once hot, add the peppers to the pan and blister lightly to get light charring but keep the peppers crisp, about 3-5 minutes. Arrange on a platter with the toasted lavash.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked cashew-carrot mixture to a food processor, leaving the cooking liquid behind. Add the 6 tablespoons olive oil and lemon juice; puree the cashew-carrot mix until smooth. Taste and season with salt.

Transfer the dip to a bowl, drizzle more olive oil over the top and garnish with the thinly sliced green parts of the scallion. Serve alongside the peppers and lavash.

Sweet, juicy tomatoes, crunchy refreshing cucumbers and basil with its hint of pepper contrast the very lemony, salty-rich mayo for a summer-y crudités that comes together quickly.

1 pound medium to large ripe tomatoes (a few small, cherry-type tomatoes are OK too)

2 tablespoons loosely packed, finely chopped preserved lemon

½ cup basil leaves, preferably larger size

Slice the tomatoes into ½-inch wedges and the cucumbers into ¼-inch to ½-inch spears. Season both lightly with salt and cover with a damp towel while you make the dip.

Add the preserved lemon and lemon juice to a bowl then add the mayonnaise and whisk well to combine.

Lift the damp towel from the tomatoes and cucumbers and arrange them on a platter with the basil leaves and the bowl of Preserved Lemon Mayonnaise.

Roasted apricots and garlic turn labneh into a tangy dip that is slightly sweet, but savory too.

½ pound apricots (about 3) sliced in half and pitted

8 large cloves garlic, 5 crushed and 3 thinly sliced

1 cup labneh, or Greek or “strained” yogurt

¼ pound green beans, stemmed or not (your preference)

2 heads Little Gem lettuce cut into wedges

5-6 radishes with nice leaves

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a small, oven-safe skillet or baking dish, add the apricots, crushed garlic and oregano. Toss with 1 teaspoon salt, turmeric and 6 tablespoons of olive oil. Roast, uncovered until the apricots have become very tender, the garlic soft and browned on top, about 20 minutes. Discard the oregano stems and, with a slotted spoon, transfer the apricot and garlic to the bowl of a food processor or blender (or just a bowl with a whisk handy if you don’t have either). Let cool completely.

Transfer the leftover roasting oil to a small pot and heat over medium with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the thinly sliced garlic and pine nuts. Cook, stirring until the garlic becomes crispy and the pine nuts golden, about 3-5 minutes. Watch carefully to make sure the garlic and pine nuts don’t burn. Turn off the heat and let cool completely.

To serve, add the labneh and brown sugar to the food processor with the cooled apricot and garlic and pulse until combined with the labneh. Season with salt and transfer to a serving bowl. Arrange the green beans, Little Gem wedges and radishes on a platter and spoon the cooled garlic-pine nut oil over the roasted apricot-garlic labneh.