A Duo of Vegetable Dishes (With Special Guest: Bacon!)

I don’t want you to get the idea that everything I makes comes out good.  That couldn’t be further from the truth.  I do my best to fill you in on my exciting failures, but lately most of them haven’t ended very dramatically.  Just disappointingly.  And the only drama is me cleaning up after dinner by tipping the table into a garbage bag, dishes and all, and then letting the bag clank and smash all the way down the stairs to the street.

You can tell when things aren't going my way in the kitchen when I don't post any recipes or mediocre photographs, and I’m going on and on about the Farmer or the news or my period.  Really anything to draw attention away from the fact that I’ve lost my ability to cook.  This week, however, has been a good week (so far).  So, let’s look at a couple of ways that bacon can make everything better.

1. Roasted Root Vegetable Pot Pie

The other thing I made this weekend, besides a sandwich, was a pot pie.  I found a recipe over at Hogwash that basically named off every single ingredient I get from the farmshare (carrots, parsnips, turnips, celery root, onions, potatoes — aaaaaaand we have a winner!).  I was behind in eating my vegetables, so I needed to make a pretty large dent.

Many substitutions were made.  I got rid of all traces of mushrooms, for example (you may recall my mushroom problem).  Enter bacon.  The mushroom-soaking water was replaced with duck stock.  Instead of puff pastry, I just made regular old pie dough.  You’ll probably want to try it her way, but my way was really good, too. 

2. Bacon and Sauerkraut Strudel

This strudel was awfully delicious, and made me appreciate, once again, how awesome my sauerkraut came out.  Since that comprised the bulk of the strudel filling (the rest was potato, bacon, and onion), there would have been no getting around it if the sauerkraut sucked. 

Be sure to serve this with sour cream.  Lots of it.  The following was overheard in my kitchen last night: “Please, God, please let there be a container of sour cream in the refrigerator.  I don’t care how old it is.”  There was.  (March 3.  Score!)

Bacon and Sauerkraut Strudel

It’s been a while since I made this, and I’ve since lost my recipe.  But, I found a similar one over at Fresh Approach Cooking that I worked of off, tweaking things a bit to match what I remember.

2 large potatoes, peeled, cut into large pieces
6 thick-cut slices of bacon, cut into large dice
1 large onion, diced
1 bay leaf
4 cups sauerkraut, drained
1 tsp. caraway seeds (my sauerkraut already had plenty of this)
Salt and pepper
8 sheets phyllo dough
5 Tbsp. butter, melted
Sour cream

In a large pot of salted water, boil the potatoes until tender, about 10 minutes.  Drain and mash coarsely, leaving plenty of lumps.

Preheat oven to 375°F. 

In a medium pot over medium-low heat, sauté the bacon, onion, and bay leaf until just browned, about 8 minutes.  Remove bay leaf.  Add potatoes, sauerkraut, caraway seeds, and salt and pepper, and stir until any excess liquid is gone.

On a rimmed sheet pan, place a sheet of phyllo dough.  Brush with melted butter.  Repeat with remaining 7 sheets, but don’t butter the top sheet.  Dump sauerkraut mixture down the middle of the stack of phyllo the long way, leaving several inches on all sides.  Very, very carefully, fold over the short edges, and then roll lengthwise like a burrito.  You want the seam on the bottom.  If it breaks, no big deal.  It’ll still be good.  Brush the outside with melted butter.

Bake 35 minutes or until phyllo is golden.  Slice and serve with sour cream.

Comments

[Sally]

I was just wondering what the rest of the family thought about your "awsome saurkraut". The sour cream comment sort of gave me a clue. Are the kids eating it too?

[Sally]

Oh - and who was that back on your mushroom post who remembered the words to granspa's song?

[Stephen R. Donaldson]

*grandpa, even.... sheesh!

[Adele]

I've never really been a fan of apple strudel, but bacon and sauerkraut strudel? That sounds fantastic.

[Husband]

Sally: Husband is really enjoying the sauerkraut. The kids won't touch such stuff, so we have not pushed it on them.

Yummy!!

[Tammy]

Husband: Thanks for not pointing out that I refused to share it with them.

Adele: I prefer my sweet apples in a more substantial crust. Which reminds me, I have apples and extra pie dough from the pot pie.

Stephen R. Donaldson: I swear I'll finish one of your books, eventually.

Sally: I didn't mean to imply that the sour cream was needed to mask the flavor. If anything, it heightens it, adds a bit of moisture, makes it better, and, more importantly, gives me an excuse to eat half a container of sour cream. P.S. A writer always protects her anonymous sources!!

[Heather]

Wait, you made pot pie AND a savory streudel? Will you be my new mommy?

Sour cream really does make everything taste better. I bet a spoonful of lingonberry preserves would be good too.

[whatacard]

Mmm, bacon! That pot pie looks and sounds incredible...I'll have to try it. There's nothing that improves a vegetarian dish more than adding bacon. Sadly, I'm not kidding. I'm scared of cooking with phyllo dough, so I'll have to take your word on the strudel.

Ooo, scary phyllo :)

[Mary]

Oh THANK YOU! I am so happy you posted the bacon and sauerkraut strudel you teased us with earlier this week! Yay! There's only 2 of us here, how did the leftovers hold up? Would the leftovers freeze well? I'm so salivating right now.

[Mary]

I am fairly new to your blog, but I have laughed and drooled over each and every post. I'm still not trying sauerkraut though!!

[Tammy]

Mary: Welcome! I'll win you over with the sauerkraut, yet.

Other Mary: The leftovers held up pretty well. I reheated them in the oven, not the microwave, to keep the phyllo crispy. As for the freezer, good question. Not sure. We ate it all in under 48 hours.

Whatacard: Phyllo isn't as scary as everyone makes it out to be. I'll do a baklava post one of these days to demystify it.

Heather: Lingonberry preserves??? Will YOU be MY new mommy?