Hazelnut and Courgette (Zucchini) Bake
"I've lost count of the number of times I've made this recipe, which comes from "Sarah Brown's Vegetarian Cookbook". Sarah Brown is a well known British cookery writer.
This roast is a light, delicately flavoured centrepiece dish, which can be served hot or cold. Ideal for summer dining, and a useful way of using some of your garden's over-abundant crop of courgettes! The last time I made this recipe (after posting) I decided the mix was 'wet' enough without adding the pureed tomato, so I've updated this to show this ingredient as optional. Works fine with and fine without--your choice."
photo by Chef Joey Z.
- Ready In:
- 1hr
- Ingredients:
- 14
- Serves:
-
4
ingredients
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 4 ounces hazelnuts, roughly chopped
- 1 1⁄4 lbs courgettes, diced
- 1⁄2 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1⁄2 tablespoon cumin seed
- 1⁄2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1⁄4 teaspoon grated gingerroot
- 3 ounces medium oatmeal (or rolled oat flakes)
- 3 ounces ground almonds
- 2 ounces creamed coconut, grated
- 5 ounces canned tomatoes, pureed (optional)
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper, to taste
- salt and black pepper, to taste
directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.
- In a large frying pan gently sauté the onion for 3-4 minutes in 2 tablespoons of oil.
- Add the hazelnuts, courgettes, sesame seeds, cumin, turmeric and ginger; stir ingredients together and continuing to stir occasionally, cook over a moderate heat for 7-10 minutes until the nuts have lightly browned and the courgettes are soft (the hazelnuts will absorb the oil during cooking so add the remaining oil during this stage if you need to); remove from heat when cooked.
- Mix in the oatmeal, almonds, coconut and tomatoes (if using) and stir together thoroughly; season with cayenne, salt and black pepper.
- Grease a 1 lb loaf tin or a deep pate dish and press the mixture in well; bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is well browned and firm to the touch.
- Remove from oven when cooked and allow the roast to rest in its tin for a few minutes before turning out and slicing; for extra presentation you can decorate the top with additional thin cut slices of courgette that have been gently fried.
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Reviews
-
How good can a nut loaf get?!! This is excellent (Dave's just finished his second helping!). Only had a mix of brazils, almonds & cashews (retrieved from a pack of breakfast cereal!!)but they tasted great! Next time I'll get hazelnuts to try. Thanks Mrs B! -
I made this last night for supper and we loved it. I agree, the tomatoes do make it a bit too moist, so I'll cut back or eliminate them next time. The zucchini I used was given to me by a friend from their organic garden. This made the recipe taste extra yummy. -
An unusual and truly fabulous blend of flavours and textures. Out of respect for the sheer unusualness of the ingredients, for once, I didn’t make a single change. I opted to use only about 1 tablespoon of pureed tomatoes. Everyone loved this dish. Next time, I’m going to double the recipe. There was none left to see what it would taste like cold or at room temperature. And I’m curious! Regardless of whether you like vegetarian recipes, if you like the sound of the ingredients, give this one a try! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, Caroline!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Mrs B
Worcester Park, Surrey
I live with my husband and 2 cats in Worcester Park; a quiet typical 1930s suburb (which no one has ever heard of!) about 12 miles South West of London.
I'm a fair weather gardener and as my husband is a vegetarian I grow a few easy vegetables, such as tomatoes and peppers, mainly in containers. My husband loves growing flowers, the brighter the better, and we have a pretty garden as a result. Our cats, Araminta and Purrl, like it too!
I do a lot of cooking and try to keep our diet as healthy and varied as possible. Although I work full time, I use very little in the way of pre-prepared foods. This is partly because of the limited choice of vegetarian meals, which I think are overpriced anyway; but mainly because I like to know what goes in my food!
I love using the Internet for all the great ideas it gives me. Last year I participated in the Zaar World Tour (under my previous public name Caroline Blakey), which was great. Mr B and I tried lots of new foods and discovered new favourite meals. Researching recipes for the Tour was really interesting, however as I didn't have time to try them all, some were posted untested. I'm still working my way very slowly through them. To make matters worse I keep seeing other recipes I want to save and have also participated in Zaar world Tour II. So many recipes, so little time to make them!
<img src="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/kzbhansen/Banners/Animation3.gif">
My 'rules' for posting recipes are a) if I wouldn't make a particular recipe, I won't post it and b) if my husband wouldn't eat it, I won't post it. This means that all my recipes are vegetarian friendly.
As you will see from the number of recipes saved in my cookbooks, I particularly enjoy making jams and chutneys; I'd say it was one of my favourite hobbies. We always have a good supply of home preserves; my friends and work colleagues are well supplied too.
If we won the lottery (say £5m, as a good number) we'd like to give up work, move to the country and buy a place with a bit of land. In my dreams this would be a manor house or old vicarage, with a walled garden, an orchard where I could keep hens, a vegetable garden, etc, etc, etc! In my more realistic moments (the £1m win perhaps) I would like to run a B&B, perhaps offering Vegetarian taster weekends. Luckily it costs nothing to dream.......I’d also love more time to read, do embroidery, learn a language, see more of the countryside; and of course play on Zaar.
