I love fresh capsicums and they tend to find their way into most meals in our house. However, every now and then when I’ve gotten overexcited while doing the groceries and bought too many, I find a couple of sly peppers hiding out in the back of the fridge thinking they have escaped. This is a great way of using up any extras you might have lurking in the shadows. This pesto comes courtesy of Annabel Langbein, whose book Annabel Langbein The Free Range Cook is brilliant, full of easy, fresh, workable recipes made with great NZ produce.

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

Adapted from Annabel Langbein The Free Range Cook

Makes 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

3 large red or orange peppers 
2Tbsp olive oil 
1 cloves garlic, crushed 
1 tsp paprika (plain not smoked) 
1 tsp smoked paprika 
1/4 cup slithered almonds, roasted
1/4 cup fresh coriander, chopped 1/4 cup grated parmesan
salt and ground black pepper

Method:

To roast the peppers clean and dry them then roast in the oven for 15-20minutes at 240C. Their skin should be bubbling with black spots once they are ready. Remove the peppers from the oven and leave them for a minute or two to cool slightly, then pop them into a zip lock bag to sweat the skin off. Leave to cool, before peeling off the skin and removing the seeds.

In a small pan heat the oil and saute the garlic and paprika until fragrant. In a blender combine all the ingredients and pulse until a chunky consistency is reached. Extra almonds can be addedif it looks too sloppy. Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy on meats, pasta, or as a dip.