Crouton

Crustless piece of bread, of varying size, that is toasted, fried in butter or oil, or dried in the oven. Small diced croutons are used to garnish soups, omelettes, purees on so on. Larger croutons in decorative shapes (crescents, hearts, diamonds etc. are used to garnish dishes in sauce. Even larger croutons are used as a base for serving a game bird or piece of meat such as a Tournedos steak, and are usually cut to the same size as the bird etc.