Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Wash the pepper and pat it dry. Simply leave the stem in place so you can use it to hold the pepper later.

Remove the outer skins from the head of garlic, but leave all the cloves attached and intact. Cut off the tops of all the cloves. Drizzle a little oil over the cut surfaces. Wrap the head of garlic in aluminum foil.

Place the pepper on the oven rack (just as it is, without doing anything else). Place the wrapped head of garlic beside it. Set the timer for 45 minutes.

Remove the pepper and garlic from the oven and let cool. Wait at least about 5 minutes before continuing so you do not burn your hands.

Peel the pepper and remove the seeds. If it is very juicy, reserve some of the juice. Do not discard it, as it may be useful for thinning the pesto later.

Squeeze the garlic out of the cloves. The easiest way to do this is to leave them attached to the head and squeeze from the base toward the opening.

Grate the cheese (if using).

Place the almonds in the food processor and grind finely.

Add the pepper and garlic, along with the nut butter, cheese or nutritional yeast, olive oil and sage. Add a little salt to taste, if desired. Blend briefly until well combined.

Depending on the consistency, add a little more of the reserved pepper juice. If the pesto is still too thick, thin it with water. The water content of the pepper can vary greatly, but further thinning is generally not necessary.