A recipe from The Vegan Cookbook

preparation: 15 minutes
cooking: 4550 minutes
serves: 4

4 courgettes
1 tablespoon avocado or olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce Pt
125 g (4 oz) red lentils
1/2 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
250 ml (8 fl oz) Vegetable Stock (see page 14)
25 g (1 oz) shelled walnuts, chopped
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon yeast extract
1 dessertspoon chopped dates
1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
1 teaspoon soya milk
1 teaspoon chopped thyme



1 Preheat the oven to 180C (350F), Gas Mark 4. First make the pt. Fill a medium saucepan with cold water, add the lentils and bring to the boil.

2 Drain the lentils, rinse under running cold water, then return them to the saucepan. Add the onion, garlic and vegetable stock, bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.

3 Drain the lentils again, then stir in all the remaining pt ingredients, transfer the mixture to a food processor or liquidizer and blend until smooth.

4 Slice a thin sliver from the bottom of the courgettes so that they sit level on a plate. Cut a rectangle almost the length and width of the courgettes through the skin on the top side. Carefully remove the rectangle of skin, then scoop out the flesh using a teaspoon. (Freeze the flesh for use in another recipe at a later date.)

5 Mix together the oil and soy sauce, then brush the cut surfaces of the courgettes with it. Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove the courgettes from the oven, fill with the lentil pt and return to the oven for 510 minutes to heat through.

6 Serve with a mixed salad, Red Onion Marmalade (see page 16) and warm oatcakes.



The Vegan Cookbook by Tony & Yvonne Bishop-Weston, published by Hamlyn, £5.99 (www.octopusbooks.co.uk)