In my opinion, there is no better side dish for a steak than potatoes, in whatever shape or form, so I knew I had to make some to go with the Beef fillet roast that I prepared for my Foodbuzz 24×24 Christmas in July event. The thing is, when you are making a special meal, you want all your dishes to be a bit different. After making Cocoa Gnocchi, I just could not make mashed potatoes. Also, the steak was no ordinary steak: it was eye fillet roast filled with a chestnut purée. So, I started digging for something more “compatible” and that is when I stumbled on these cute little potato parcels. I thought they would go great with the meat and they did. I must admit they were a bit time consuming to prepare… but they tasted great and hit the spot, so I won’t complain! Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from the magazine “La Cucina Italiana”, December 2006
Ingredients (for 4 people):
3 potatoes (200 gms each)
60 gms Parmigiano Reggiano, thinly grated
8 slices of Italian speck
1 leek
6 or 7 sage leaves, chopped
1 tsp vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Peel the potatoes and slice them into 5 mm thick slices. Make sure to give them a rectangular shape.
Put some water to boil, add a tsp of vinegar and salt to it and blanch the potato slices for about 10 minutes. Drain them and let them cool down.
Clean the leek and peel off some of the leaves.
Wash them and blanch them in boiling water with a tsp of extra virgin olive oil and salt. When soft, drain them and let them cool down.
Mix the grated Parmigiano Reggiano with the chopped sage leaves and a pinch of pepper.
Now take one leek leaf, put a slice of speck on it and 1 slice of potato. Sprinkle the potato with the Parmigiano and sage mix, put another slice of potato on the top. Then sprinkle the potato with the Parmigiano and sage mix, put another slice of potato on the top and finish with some cheese. You will need 3 potato slices per parcel. Now wrap the speck and leek around it and turn it upside down so that the joint is not visible.
Put the parcels in an oven proof dish lined with baking paper.
Drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil and bake in a preheated fan forced oven at 180°C for 15 minutes. Serve warm. They are ideal to accompany roasts.
Being part Irish (potatoes) and part Welsh (leeks) I cannot help but love this dish, Manu. I saw the photo on your 24 x 24 – so glad to have the recipe now.
Oh, how beautiful!!! Love these potato parcels…and my family will, too!!! Have a great week, Manu~
They are so beautiful and elegant.
They are so smart! Excellent receipe to complete a nice meal!.
Wonderful photos.
Begoña
How beautiful! They look like little presents all wrapped up!
These look absolutely delicious! Your process photos are great making it look “somewhat” easy, just time-consuming. Might have to give these a go this weekend. Great post!
wow Manuela, those look so good..perfect little packages..I never ate that before but it looks delicious!!
Wow, such pretty little potatoes!
Manu, they look like food for dolls! That’s a good thing. I think I might feel dainty eating these.
I agree! Meat goes so well with potatoes. This is a great side dish and beautiful for parties too!
These look very sophisticated.
How artistic! They look so good! And I am sure they taste even better!
Little packages of yummy joy! These are amazing and I bet they’re totally worth the extra worth 🙂
Hi Manu! This is a very cute dish! I love how everything is wrapped up and I love this kind of cooking style – wrapping up with meat. I’ve never tried with speck and this will be on my to-make list! I love leeks and potatoes…and sounds like a perfect dish that I’d totally enjoy!!
That is such a great appetizer and quick to make. I am going to try this one.
Oh manu I really really like this! I can imagine the yummy potato with the salty bits and the herby leek. Yum and all wrapped up like a cute package.
Wow what a great idea, these look delicious Manuela! 🙂
Manu, the potatoes look amazing…!!!!
They look like little Christmas gifts to go with your theme! I would have to find something vegetarian in place of the speck to “wrap” these in, but they would be perfect for Christmas.
What a beautiful potato dish! They sound delicious, and look perfect!
Beautiful, Manu! I love the shape of the potato parcels… Very elegant, and perfect for a dinner party! And I love that sage & parmesan in the middle… Yummy flavors! Thanks for sharing 🙂
This looks like a very tasty hot d’œuvres too!
I meant hors d’œuvres!
Manu, I have never heard of this potato dish before…but it sure looks good! Bookmarked! Honestly, my list of your dish that I want to try just keeps on getting longer! 🙂
Manu, you seem to be on a roll and this recipe is no less spectacular than all your others. Simple ingredients and yet, looks good and probably tastes even better with that yummy speck!!
Manu that looks fantastic! 😀 Such cute and tasty parcels of deliciousness 🙂
So pretty!
Wow! looks beautiful & delicious!!!!!
Hey Manu, This is such a beautiful dish. I love the way you wrapped it up 😀
These little packages are super cute!
Beautiful little parcels!!! I must try it.
the parcels looks so beautiful and “chef-y”! great job!