{"id":2857,"date":"2011-12-02T14:00:01","date_gmt":"2011-12-02T19:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/?p=2857"},"modified":"2011-12-02T14:00:01","modified_gmt":"2011-12-02T19:00:01","slug":"an-early-christmas-present-from-the-uk%e2%80%94roasted-veggie-%e2%80%9cbundles%e2%80%9d-bacon-wrapped-of-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/2011\/12\/an-early-christmas-present-from-the-uk%e2%80%94roasted-veggie-%e2%80%9cbundles%e2%80%9d-bacon-wrapped-of-course\/","title":{"rendered":"An Early Christmas Present From the UK\u2014Roasted Veggie \u201cBundles\u201d (Bacon-Wrapped, Of Course!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>While I am not (as many people ask) related to Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (formerly known as Kate Middleton), I am fond of many things British, especially in the \u201ccookery\u201d world. Two of my favorite cookbooks from this year are Plenty<\/em>\u2014Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London\u2019s Ottolenghi,<\/a> and Tender\u2014<\/em>A Cook and His Vegetable Patch,<\/em> <\/a>by Nigel Slater. And all of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall\u2019s books (most recently River Cottage Every Day<\/em><\/a>) inspire me. These modern British chefs and food writers have a knack for appreciating good quality fresh ingredients and treating them simply but creatively.<\/p>\n

Back when I lived closer to a big Barnes&Noble, where I could buy British magazines, my favorite purchase was Olive<\/em><\/a>, the little sister magazine to BBC\u2019s Good Food<\/em>. Last week, as I culled through hundreds of my old cookbooks to put out for our yard sale, I came across a page I had ripped out of Olive <\/em>probably five years ago. The picture still seduced me, so I taped it up over my kitchen counter, hoping to make the dish soon. In the meantime, I went online to see if the recipe resided on their website, and while I couldn\u2019t find it, I did find 80 recipes for using parsnips<\/a>\u2014lovely! And so British. \u00a0(See my favorite things to do with parsnips here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Yesterday I had a chance to make the dish, which was called \u201cRoast\u201d Vegetable Bundles in the magazine. I used that glorious photo and the simple instructions to develop a more detailed recipe, and I still think there is room for more improvisation here. The basic idea is a little package of carrots and parsnips, blanched and lightly glazed, wrapped in thinly sliced ham or bacon, and roasted to finish. The funny thing is, all along I was thinking what a great side dish this would be for a no-fuss Christmas Eve dinner with beef tenderloin. (I don\u2019t see any reason why the bundles couldn\u2019t be made up to the point of assembly and roasted just before serving.) But only this morning I noticed that the original recipe was part of a \u201cChristmas Entertaining\u201d section in the magazine. Of course!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Straight out I will tell you that the main reason I love these little bundles is the whole wrapping and rolling thing. Fun in the kitchen, you know. Plus, they look so darn cute (who wouldn\u2019t love a little veggie present?), and I admit, I had a lot of fun photographing them. As far as the delicious factor goes, they are more than satisfying. The only tiny drawback I see is that I liked the flavor and texture of the little bundles I wrapped in pancetta better than those I wrapped in prosciutto. Since prosciutto isn\u2019t as fatty, it naturally hardens up a bit when roasted. The pancetta renders beautifully when roasted, but since it comes in round slices, you need to overlap them carefully to form one longer piece to wrap the bundles. (The long prosciutto pieces are easier to roll up than the pancetta, and they stay tighter when cooked). I think next time I will ask the deli to slice my pancetta extra thin and maybe experiment with using 3 pieces together rather than 2. (You could vary the size of the bundles, too.) Also, I didn\u2019t try bacon, though theoretically overlapping thin slices would work, just a little more messily.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Also, this recipe includes a step that\u2019s unusual for me\u2014par-boiling root vegetables. Normally I would slowly saute sticks of carrots and parsnips until tender, but I went along with the suggestion to par-boil here and then lightly glaze in a saut\u00e9 pan, because I thought the veggies would hold up better when roasted. That turned out to be true, and I\u2019m glad I did it.<\/p>\n

For a special dish, this really doesn\u2019t take that much time to prepare, and you could very easily double it for a crowd if your Christmas dinner plans are ambitious. I know, we just got through Thanksgiving, but I am one of those goofballs who loves everything Christmas. (Libby and I made Christmas cookies the day after Thanksgiving.) In fact, there\u2019s nothing I like better than a British Christmas. That\u2019s why I\u2019m so excited by the cool advent calendar my sister sent me. If you feel like treating yourself to Christmas in London\u2014on your computer\u2014click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Roasted Carrot and Parsnip \u201cBundles\u201d with Fresh Thyme, Maple & Pancetta<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>These veggies would be just as lovely with roast chicken or turkey as they would with Christmas beef<\/a>. If you are working ahead, assemble the bundles and refrigerate covered. Bring to room temperature before roasting. This recipe, adapted from Olive<\/em> magazine, \u00a0doubles or triples easily.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

_____________________________<\/p>\n

Kosher salt<\/p>\n

4 medium carrots, about 9 ounces<\/p>\n

4 medium parsnips, about 9 ounces<\/p>\n

1 1\/2 tablespoons unsalted butter<\/p>\n

1 tablespoon maple syrup, more for brushing<\/p>\n

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar<\/p>\n

8 very thin slices of prosciutto, or 16 or 24 very thin slices of pancetta<\/p>\n

16 small thyme sprigs<\/p>\n

________________________<\/p>\n

Heat the oven to 400\u00b0F. Put a piece of parchment paper on a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet.<\/p>\n

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, peel and trim the carrots and parsnips, and cut into sticks or batons that are each about 3 inches long and 1\/2 inch wide. Add the veggies to the boiling water and cook for 4 minutes. Transfer to a couple layers of dish towels to drain and dry.<\/p>\n

Heat the butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the 1 tablespoon maple syrup and the balsamic vinegar and stir. Transfer the veggies to the skillet and season with about 1\/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Stir gently and turn the heat to medium high. Cook, stirring and tossing occasionally, until the veggies are browned in spots and a bit more pliable, about 7 to 9 minutes. Transfer to a large plate and spread out to cool.<\/p>\n

On a large cutting board or other surface, arrange the 8 slices of prosciutto in front of you. If using pancetta, arrange 8 groups of pancetta by slightly overlapping the slices.<\/p>\n

Divide the veggies into eight portions and arrange each portion on top of the prosciutto or pancetta. (Rather than centering the veggies, place them about one third of the way over from the right side. This will make rolling easier.) Brush the bundle of veggies with a little maple syrup and arrange the thyme sprigs on them. Working right to left, roll up the veggies in the prosciutto or pancetta and transfer to the baking sheet.<\/p>\n

Roast until the packages are browned around the edges (will be lots of browning underneath) and slightly shrunken, about 18 to 20 minutes. (This is enough to warm the veggies through, too.) Serve right away.<\/p>\n

Makes 8 bundles; serves 4 as a side dish.<\/em><\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While I am not (as many people ask) related to Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (formerly known as Kate Middleton), I am fond of many things British, especially in the \u201ccookery\u201d world. Two of my favorite cookbooks from this year are Plenty\u2014Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London\u2019s Ottolenghi, and Tender\u2014A Cook and His Vegetable Patch, by Nigel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[14,1],"tags":[33,76],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2857"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2857"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2886,"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2857\/revisions\/2886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}