Currently cooking out of Simple Weeknight Favorites from America’s Test Kitchen

So far, this cookbook is giving it’s sister, The Best Simple Recipe, a run for its money. I haven’t come across a clunker yet, and this recipe was no exception.

The star of the dish is the roasted red pepper sauce, based on the classic Spanish sauce called romesco. You take roasted red peppers (from a jar), sliced almonds, a slice of white bread, water, garlic, olive oil and a bit of cayenne pepper and process them in a food processor until the sauce is smoothish and creamy. The sauce is served over pork chops that have been sauteed on the stovetop. Roasted cauliflower dusted in paprika rounds out the meal.

The red pepper sauce is tangy with just the barest hint of heat from the cayenne pepper. You can taste the almonds and the garlic, but neither flavor overwhelms. This recipe makes a lot of sauce, so I’ve been using it on grilled chicken and to add flavor to rice. This is an easy way to perk up just about anything, I think.

The only thing I didn’t like about the dish was the cauliflower. I didn’t like the paprika, and will continue to roast my cauliflower seasoned simply with salt and pepper.