Potatoes & Green Beans in (Turkey) Bacon Balsamic Reduction

I confess: I love rich, complex-flavored sauces. I'm not ashamed to lick my plate when I'm done, or better yet sop the remainder up with some good, fresh-baked bread. Normally I'd find this a bit too heavy for summer, but we had thundershowers so I had an excuse to eat something hearty while curled up with a good book and the Norah Jones station on Pandora. You get the picture.

Dinner, book, wine, snuggly couch = perfect. You should look up the Latin on the paperweight.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes cut into about 1 - 1.5 in. pieces. I used 10 very small Yukon Gold Potatoes that mostly had to be quartered. Fingerling or red potatoes would also be good. Maybe 2-3 cups? I should measure things before giving a recipe, huh?
• Half an onion, roughly chopped (they like it rough)
• Fresh green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1 - 1.5 in. pieces - about 1.5 cups
• Herbs - I used about 1 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary, 1/2 tbsp fresh thyme, and 1 tsp dried tarragon, plus salt and pepper to taste
• 6 slices turkey bacon, cut into 1/4 in. pieces
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• Olive oil to coat pan, etc. (see notes below)
• Splash of red wine from your "cooking glass"
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1.5 tsp honey or dijon mustard
• 1 tsp honey

Directions:

Heat oven to 425. Add potatoes, onion, and herbs to a 9X13 pan (or similar sized roasting or stoneware pan.) Drizzle lightly with olive oil and toss to coat. Roast for 20 minutes. Add green beans (salt and pepper to taste and tossed with olive oil) to pan and continue roasting another 10 minutes.

 Before oven

When adding green beans

Once green beans are added, start the sauce. In a medium-ish pan, coat bottom with olive oil over medium heat. Add diced bacon and cook, stirring frequently, until done. Put in a splash of of wine from your cooking glass to deglaze the pan, especially if you realize it needs to cool down quickly. If you don't have this glass, I don't understand how you cook. However, you could add any wine or broth or maybe water or lemon juice or more vinegar. Add vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, honey, and about a teaspoon more of olive oil. Stir to combine. Reduce to medium-low and simmer until reduced a bit - about 5 minutes or so. Pour over roasted vegetables and serve warm.

Plate-licking sauce

 

I don't want to hear it from you bacon purists about using the turkey bacon. You can make it with the real stuff and I'll envy you, but my arteries and girlish figure thank me. Vegetarians, I think a warm caramelized onion-balsamic reduction or perhaps with some kind of mushrooms would work well. I wanted the indulgence and the protein.

So in the moment that the summer storm rages, this is what is on my table. I hope you are just as comforted by what is on yours.