Roast Pork with Sweet Red Pepper Paste & Roasted Potatoes

In this easy-to-make dish (called lombo de porco assada com massa de pimentão e batatas assadas in Portuguese), garlic, bay, paprika, and red pepper paste suffuse a pork loin and red potatoes, which roast together in the same pan. To round out the meal, serve spinach sautéed with garlic and sprinkled with a little red-wine or cider vinegar.

For the pork:

• 3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1-1/2 bay leaves, very finely ground
• 1-1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1-1/2 Tbs. Sweet Red Pepper Paste 
• 3 Tbs. olive oil
• 3-lb. pork loin roast

For the potatoes:

• 6 large red potatoes, washed, dried, and cut into 8 wedges each
• 1-1/2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Tbs. sweet paprika
• 1/2 Tbs. coarse salt
• 3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 3 Tbs. olive oil

Heat the oven to 350ºF. With a mortar and pestle or a fork, mash the garlic, ground bay leaves, and paprika to a paste. Stir in the sweet red pepper paste. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while stirring constantly. Cut crosshatches about 1/2-inch deep every few inches along the surface of the roast. Rub the paste all over the roast, pushing some of the paste into the crosshatches.

In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with 1 Tbs. of the parsley and the garlic, paprika, salt, pepper, and olive oil until well coated.

Put the pork in a lightly oiled roasting pan and scatter the potatoes around it. Roast until the internal temperature of the pork is 150ºF and the potatoes are tender, about 1 hour (turning the potatoes occasionally). Transfer the roast to a carving board and let it rest for 10 to 15 min. before slicing. Sprinkle the potatoes with the remaining parsley and serve.