charred cauliflower with shishito peppers along with a roasted pork chop and pear dish

Roasted Pork Chop with Pears

Serves 4.  This no-recipe technique was in the September 2012 issue of Sunset magazine.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Rub 4 boneless pork chops with chopped garlic, fresh minced sage, and olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Brown in an ovenproof frying pan, then add wedges from 2 pears and roast at 400 degrees until until done.

Charred Cauliflower and Shishito Peppers with Picada Sauce

Serves 4-6.  An amazing Catalan-style sauce lies under these veggies, from the March 2015 issue of Saveur magazine.  We love roasting cauliflower, this just adds a ton of other flavor notes.  Yes, the sauce has chocolate in it, think of it as a kind of molé or pesto.

            1 head cauliflower, trimmed, halved, and cut into 1½” wedges

            2 Tbs. + 1 c. olive oil

            kosher salt

            fresh ground black pepper

            8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

            ¼ c. canola oil, for frying peppers

            12 shishito peppers

            ½ c. whole almonds, toasted and roughly chopped

            1 c. + 1 Tbs. roughly chopped fresh parsley

            1 Tbs. finely grated dark chocolate

            2 tsp. Sherry

Heat oven broiler.  Arrange cauliflower in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Brush both sides with 2 Tbs. olive oil and season with salt and pepper; broil, flipping once, until charred and tender, about 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 c. olive oil and the garlic in a 12” skillet over medium heat.  Cook until garlic is golden, 4-6 minutes; transfer to a bowl and let cool.  Wipe skillet clean and heat canola oil over medium-high; fry peppers until blistered and slightly crisp, 4-6 minutes.  Transfer peppers to paper towels to drain; season with salt.  Stir almonds, 1 c. parsley, the chocolate, Sherry, salt and pepper into the reserved garlic oil; spread onto a serving platter.  Top with cauliflower; garnish with fried peppers and remaining parsley.