Bacon Garlic Roast

This is a variant on a Williams Sonoma "Savoring France" recipe that I absolutely love.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 lbs Rib Roast or Veal Loin
3 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 TSP Salt
1 TSP Freshly Ground Pepper
2-4 Bay Leaves
4 Fresh Thyme Sprigs
6-10 Slices Thick Sliced Bacon (depending on size of roast)
6 Heads Garlic
4 Chopped Garlic Cloves

Preheat an oven to 425 F

Rub the roast with 1 tablespoon olive oil followed by salt and pepper. Place bay leaves, chopped garlic cloves, and thyme springs on the top of the roast. Wrap roast with bacon slices, usually I lay the bacon along the longer dimension of the roast. Tie up bacon with kitchen string to hold bacon in place. Cut 1/4 inch off top of garlic heads. Rub the heads with the remaining oil. The roast bacon side up on a rack in a roasting pan. Wedge garlic heads around the roast.

Roast uncovered, basting roast and garlic with pan juices, until 145 F at thickest part (this will leave the center rare and the edges medium well) about 1 hour. Transfer roast and garlic to platter and cover loosely with foil. Let rest 10 minutes before carving.

Remove twine. Set aside pan juices for use as gravy. Smear garlic cloves from garlic heads on sliced meat for extra flavor. (The bacon is usually eaten by the carver as a special bonus.)