Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Pear Prosciutto Bundles (& Green Bean Delivery review)

Posted by Erin Wilburn / 1 comment » / appetizers, Nashville

From my house I can see both a grocery store AND the Farmer’s Market. And yet… I’ve really been slacking about buying and cooking vegetables. I can blame it on the fact that I have two kids, I can blame it on the fact that one kid hardly eats vegetables, I can blame it on poor planning, work/life in general, etc. But it’s time I get back on the veggie train. I have always loved eating vegetable filled meals, so I’ve really been missing out. Recently I got the offer to try a new grocery delivery service, Green Bean Delivery. It came highly recommended from a foodie friend who has the service in her area.

Green Bean Delivery is one of those services that deliver a box of customized items to your door. Unlike the clothes or beauty products service, this is a bin YOU can completely customize before each delivery. You can schedule & skip deliveries at your convenience. There’s no sign-up/membership fee, delivery is free, and they offer high quality, local when they can, organic stuff. Here’s a great info page.

And, here’s a promo code for your first order: bc6effi It expires 3 months from today so you have until May 10th to use it!

I was actually home on the day & time my first delivery came. I was so excited! When I opened up my first bin I was quite impressed with the quality of all the produce. Everything was picture perfect and tasted great! Our first night we roasted broccoli. Roasting is my default for veggies. There’s a rare vegetable that doesn’t taste delicious with a little EVOO, salt + pepper! I had to steam a few stalks of the broccoli for my picky 2 year old, BUT HE TOOK 3 bites! Monumental. Also of great success were the rainbow baby carrots. I took them out to show my husband, not expecting Elliott to care, and both guys were quite excited about them! Elliott even ate a baby carrot. Seriously, the kid rarely eats vegetables and already he’s ate two from my bin! Nathan even said “If you kept these on hand, I’d snack on them during the week.” So there you have it, I’m sold.

(Most produce came wrapped in paper bags, I unwrapped everything for this “display” photo)

In my first bin I also had a wide selection of fruits, including bananas, pears, apples, oranges, kiwi, avocado, and more vegetables like bok choy, green beans, as well as grocery items like bulk organic rolled oats. I eat a lot of oatmeal, and I like to buy it in bulk when I can. I was also really excited to see they had some Bourbon Barrel Foods items on sale the week of my first bin. I love their bourbon barrel soy sauce, so I was excited to purchase some bourbon barrel vanilla and bourbon barrel smoked sea salt. This KY-born girl was happy.

My offer to review this only included my first bin delivery, but I enjoyed it so much I’ve decided to continue the service. In this week’s bin I’ve ordered more of those baby rainbow carrots, along with brussels sprouts (a favorite for us!), and even a loaf of bread from Nashville’s Provence bakery. What works best for me & my family would be a delivery about every other week. That’s how I’ve done CSA’s in the past. One big difference between this and a CSA is that I can suspend deliveries at any time.

DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE COUPON CODE! ENTER bc6effi to get $15 off your first order.

And now for this super easy appetizer recipe! This past weekend was the Nashville Food Bloggers potluck party. In thinking about parties from years past, I remember lots of desserts, and lots of rich, savory bites. Therefore, I thought I might try to contribute something light & fresh. I knew I had some pears from my Green Bean Delivery, and I wanted to utilize those. I ended up on this incredibly simple & tasty appetizer. All it includes is a slice of pear, a slice of brie cheese, and some arugula lightly dressed with a lemon thyme vinaigrette wrapped up in a slice of prosciutto. Seeing as I’m often hard-pressed for time these days, the simpler the better! While these are simple, they are quite flavorful. I got a lot of compliments, and this is a crowd that knows food!

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Pear Prosciutto Bundles

Yield: 16 appetizers

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 bunch arugula leaves
2 ripe bosc pears
4oz brie cheese
2 lemons
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped OR 1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
16 slices prosciutto di Parma
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

In a medium bowl whisk together extra virgin olive oil, thyme, the juice from one and a half of the lemons (reserve the remaining half), and salt & pepper. Add in the arugula leaves and toss to combine.

Quarter the pear lengthwise and remove the core. Cut into quarters and then in half again. Squeeze the remaining lemon over the pears.

To assemble lay down a piece of prosciutto followed by a pear slice, a slice of brie (about equal in size to the pear slice), and top with the dressed arugula. Roll up tightly. Repeat steps for remaining ingredients. Top with a sprinkle of freshly cracked pepper.

adapted from Rachael Ray