If you've never laughed out loud while reading a recipe, you haven't read a recipe by Alison Roman. The bestselling cookbook author has a dishy tone that makes her instructions read like a conversation with your favourite girlfriend after she's had a generous glug of wine. (That said, Roman's recipes always a) make sense, and b) work.) One of my favourite lines, from a recipe for chickpea stew: "Determining personal stew thickness is a personal journey!" Have truer words ever been spoken?
Roman's first cookbook, Dining In, was my most-cooked-from-book of 2019, and I have no doubt that her second, the just-released Nothing Fancy, will hold the same title in 2020. That's why I'm so excited we were able to excerpt four recipes from Nothing Fancy, which form the menu for a decadent roast beef feast. I devoured this spread when our Test Kitchen recreated it, and it was, in a word, sublime.
Recipes reprinted from Nothing Fancy. Copyright © 2019 by Alison Roman. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.
A "romesco-esque dip" featuring beets in lieu of roasted red peppers. Get Alison Roman's Garlicky Beet Dip recipe.
Photo, Erik Putz. Food styling, Ashley Denton. Prop styling, Catherine Doherty."This is the salad of my dreams," says Roman. "Garlicky, bracingly acidic, clean and crunchy as hell." Get Alison Roman's Little Gems With Garlicky Lemon Pistachio recipe.
Photo, Erik Putz. Food styling, Ashley Denton. Prop styling, Catherine Doherty."Season it aggressively, love it passionately, and cook it perfectly," says the cookbook author about this decadent roast. Get Alison Roman's Low And Slow Rib Roast With Rosemary And Anchovy recipe.
Photo, Erik Putz. Food styling, Ashley Denton. Prop styling, Catherine Doherty.This easy focaccia bread can be made in just a few hours. Get Alison Roman's Overnight Focaccia, Tonight recipe.
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