Pepper Pesto

I have the habit of being unable to resist the written word should it appear before me. Once I start a book, no matter how god-awful, I simply must finish it; I feel guilty if I don't read a news article to the bitter end; and if a cookbook is present, I'll have 'just a quick flick through.' 

I was supposed to be watching a heart-breaking movie with my boyfriend's family but his mum had Annabel Langbein's cookbook, The Free Range Cook just lying there! Big pretty pictures combined with food was a killer combo and I have no idea how the movie ended. 

Rushing home to save my dad from starvation, I decided to give Annabel's Roasted Pepper Pesto a go. 

It wasn't until I got home that I realised I'd admired the pictures and skimmed the method but had largely ignored the ingredients list and therefore had no idea how much of anything I was meant to be using. Time to improvise!

Luckily we had some Bambi in the freezer

Last year, Mum and I preserved some lemons after reading about them in Cuisine. I used the zest and oil from this batch, which featured star anise, bay leaves and peppercorns. Grating the lemon was pretty textural but tasted fab.

Cut a hunk of venison into bite-size pieces and place in a small container. Add zest of one lemon and some balsamic vinegar. Stir and cover.

Roast a red capsicum, half a red onion and as much garlic as you can get away with. The capsicum is ready when the skin blackens. Pop it in a bowl and cover with a tea towel or something so it sweats. Once cool enough to touch, the skin peels right off. Gently roast a few handfuls of almonds in a little oil with a teaspoon each of paprika and cumin. Throw almonds and spice, garlic, peeled capsicum, some lemon zest in a food processor and whiz it. Add oil until you have the texture you like and add more spice if you want it hotter.

Fry venison over high heat and serve with rice, pesto and red onion.