Bacon Wraps

Last week I was on the grocery store when I saw a piece of bacon. Although it wasn't in my shopping list, that bacon was so beautiful and meaty that I couldn't resist the temptation to make bacon wraps. I prepare two delicious and easy wraps recipes: chicken with pink peppercorns and another one only with carrots.

For the chicken, you can also use chicken breast and thighs. I prefer the second one because they are juicier than breast when baked. Only the bacon is enough to give flavor to the chicken, but if you want to improve even more the taste, try to marinate the chicken before. A simple cup of white wine, herbs and seasoning can make a big difference on the final result. Finally, I garnished the wraps with some pink peppercorns. I love them! They have a pungent flavor and also add such a beautiful color to a dish.

The carrots are even simpler to prepare than the chicken. First, cut the carrots into stick shape and then put them in boil water for 1-2 minutes. This time is enough for not overcook the carrots without losing their vitamins. Now take some carrots, wrap with bacon and then put it in a preheated skillet with some olive oil. You can also try it with asparagus instead of carrots. Both are perfect as an accompaniment to a grilled meat. 

Chicken  Wrapped in Bacon with Pink Peppercorns

2 boneless chicken thighs cut into 2 pieces
About 2 tablespoons rosemary, very finely chopped
About 2 tablespoons thyme, finely chopped
Sea salt and coarsely ground pepper
About 1/4 cup white wine
4 thin slices good quality bacon 

Place chicken in a dish with the wine, rosemary and thyme. Season lightly with sea salt and more heavily with pepper then toss evenly to coat the chicken pieces with herbs and wine. Use right away or marinate up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Arrange a wire cooling rack over a baking sheet.

Wrap a bacon slice around each piece of chicken Arrange the chicken on the rack. Bake 45 minutes, until bacon is crisp and chicken cooked through.

Garnish with some pink peppercorns. 

Carrots Wrapped in Bacon

(from here)

4 slices of bacon

4 medium carrots cut into sticks and pre-cooked

A drizzle of olive oil

Salt and pepper

Season the carrot sticks with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.

Separate the carrot sticks into 4 portions. Take one portion, add the sticks and, in the middle of this portion, pass a bacon slice like a tape, giving the shape of a medallion. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Heat a skillet with 1tsp of olive oil, medium heat. Put the bacon with the ending stripe facing down for about 1min.

When the bacon is golden brown, turn and brown the carrots ends.