Vegan Courgette Bread

Ingredients

For 10 portions

• 🥒 300g courgette
• 🌾 250g flour
• 🍚 1 Tsp baking powder
• 🧂 1 Tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 🌿 2 Tsp cinnamon
• 🌿 1 pinch nutmeg
• 🧂 0.5 Tsp salt
• 🌰 2 Tbsp flax seeds
• 🏺 100ml sunflower oil
• 🥛 80ml soy drink
• 🍋 1 Tsp lemon juice
• 🍚 180g brown sugar
• 🥄 1 Tsp vanilla extract
• 🌰 75g walnuts

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Grease a 900 g (2 lb) loaf tin and line it with baking paper.
2. Make the flax eggs: mix the ground flaxseed with 6 tablespoons of water and leave for 10 minutes until thick and gloopy. Grind whole flaxseed first if that's what you have.
3. Coarsely grate the courgette, put it in a clean tea towel and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. This stops the loaf going soggy.
4. Toast the walnuts in a dry pan for 3–4 minutes, then roughly chop them.
5. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
6. In another bowl, whisk the flax eggs, sunflower oil, soy milk, lemon juice, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth. The lemon juice reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to help the loaf rise.
7. Pour the wet mixture into the dry, add the courgette and most of the walnuts, and fold together until just combined. Don't overmix.
8. Scrape into the tin, level the top and scatter with the rest of the walnuts.
9. Bake for 60–70 minutes, until risen, golden and a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean. Cover loosely with foil if it browns too fast.
10. Leave in the tin for 15 minutes, then lift out and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing: it's fragile while warm. It keeps for 4 days wrapped.