Spicy vegan bean casserole

Here's one for the vegetarians/vegans among you.

Years ago, I used to think vegetarian food was not substantial or filling enough, but then I came across this recipe which transformed my view. The original recipe was from a magazine I bought over 30 years ago, and I've adapted it over the years. It's tasty and satisfying and the best bit is the garlic bread topping which goes crispy on the top and lovely and gooey with the spicy tomato sauce on the bottom. And it's good for you, and the planet! What's not to like?

Fry one onion in vegetable oil in a large pan until soft. Add one chopped clove garlic, half or one tsp chilli powder (depending on how hot you like it) and 1 teaspoon cumin and fry gently for a couple of minutes. Then add two large or four small carrots, cut into chunky slices, together with one large or two small coarsely shopped green peppers, and a tin of chopped tomatoes. bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for about 15 minutes. Add 2 drained cans of beans of your choice - for this one I used black eyed peas and pinto beans, but butter beans and red kidney beans, or haricot beans and black beans will all work well. The aim is to use two contrasting colours. Add a couple of tablespoons of tomato puree or pepper paste, a teaspoon of sugar, and salt and black pepper to taste. Mix, turn the heat up and simmer while you make the garlic bread.

When I originally made this recipe, I was disappointed that there was not much garlic bread, as it's the highlight of the dish. However, the trick is to use a big deep casserole dish and cut your french stick (check at the bakery that it is vegan - mine contained only flour, yeast, salt and water) into 10cm lengths. This should make about 8 pieces which will fit nicely into a 28-30cm round casserole dish.

Make your garlic "butter" by mixing a teaspoon of dried mixed herbs, 1-2 cloves of pureed garlic (or garlic powder) and 6 tablespoons of vegan spread (I used Vitalite).

Spoon the casserole mixture into your chosen casserole dish and set the oven to 180C. Smear a thick wedge of garlic spread on to one end of each piece of french stick and stand upright, "buttered" side up, on top of the casserole.

Put in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the garlic bread topping has turned golden. Serves 4-6, and be prepared to fight over the garlic bread! This is good on it's own, or you can serve with some salad leaves.

Adaptations/Notes:

• You can vary the proportions of the ingredients, or increase quantities, if you have more people to feed.

• I tend to cook my own beans from scratch, which needs some thinking ahead to soak the beans and cook in a pressure cooker (see butter bean puree recipe).

• Of course, you can substitute butter for the vegan spread, if you are not vegan.

• For the die-hard omnivores who can't face a meal without meat, you can add some stewing steak at the same time as the carrots, but it will need a much longer cooking time before adding the beans. Trust me, it tastes just fine as a meatless dish!