Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut “Pesto” by this week’s host, Heather of girlichef. Follow Heather on twitter.

What a week! Mark Bittman’s roasted red pepper “pesto” made an appearance on 36 member blogs this week. I am amazed and inspired by all of the creative interpretations for one recipe.

Your posts prove that this “pesto” is good on pretty much everything, whether it’s straight from the jar, spread on toast, layered between polenta cakes, used as pizza sauce, slathered on tofu, mixed into twice-baked sweet potatoes, or swirled into pasta! I was surprised to learn that we can substitute almost any kind of nut for the walnuts, like almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, or just mixed nuts. Several members traded other vegetables for some or all of the roasted red peppers, like sun-dried tomatoes, kale, spinach and basil. We can all thank Heather for picking such a delicious and versatile recipe!

Be sure to check out our member’s photos and posts, which you can find on our updated Pinterest board. Next Monday, we’ll post Marcia‘s pick, the Baked Rigatoni with Brussels Sprouts, Figs, and Blue Cheese (page 221). Can’t wait to see your takes on that one!