It’s time to reinvent the crudité platter, and I nominate these attractive little bundles of vegetables; they’re great with cocktails for entertaining as an alternative to a boring deli plate, but they are also a nice alternative to a salad with a pasta dinner. My friends request this often.

　　

Ingredients

4 to 6 servings

　　6 broccolini stalks

　　6 small cauliflower florets with stems

　　15 paper-thin slices prosciutto

　　1/2 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored, and thinly sliced lengthwise

　　1/2 orange bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut lengthwise into thin strips

　　1/2 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut lengthwise into thin strips

　　2-ounce piece of Parmesan cheese

　　2 tablespoons Meyer lemon olive oil

　　

Step 1

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Place a large bowl of ice water near the stove. Cook the broccolini in the boiling water for 1 minute, then use a slotted spoon to transfer it to the bowl of ice water. Let cool for 2 minutes, then drain on a towel and reserve. Cook the cauliflower in the boiling water for 3 minutes, then cool in the ice water and drain as for the broccolini.

　　

Step 2

Working with 1 slice at a time, cut the prosciutto slices in half lengthwise. Make a small bundle of fennel slices and wrap it with prosciutto, allowing the fennel to extend out the ends. Bundle together 2 strips each of orange and red bell peppers and wrap them with prosciutto in the same way. Wrap prosciutto strips around the stalks of broccolini and the stem ends of the cauliflower florets.

　　

Step 3

Using a vegetable peeler, shave the Parmesan cheese onto a large platter or serving plates; arrange the vegetable bundles over the cheese shavings. Drizzle the oil over the bundles.

　　Everyday Pasta