The summer season is perfect for long dinner parties in the garden with endless buffets of little delicious treats. I recently found a really nice recipe in a magazine for country living: bacon wrapped carrots with basil and lemon zest. The twist: The bacon is not grilled as you might expect from bacon wrapped dried plums or dates.

To prepare the carrots simply peel or wash them well, leaving one inch (2 to 3 cm) of green. Heat some tablespoons of olive oil in a wide pot and put the carrots in. Sprinkle with ground pepper and sea salt. Let the carrots simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile you peel two cloves of garlic and cut them into very thin slices. Add the garlic slices and the zest of one lemon to the carrots when the carrots are almost done. Let them cool in the pan. To serve the carrots wrap them in leaves of basil and thin slices of bacon and put them onto a plate. Delicious!

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