This delicious melty cheesy slice is based on a non-vegan recipe which was easy to veganise and similarly easy to make gluten-free. If you don’t require it to be gluten-free use any wheat bread for the breadcrumbs.

The onion in the dish is not cooked until it goes into the oven and its flavour really complements the vegan cheese.

Cheesy Lentil Slice

1 tbsp vegetable oil
12 floz (340ml) water
6 oz (175g) split red lentils
4 oz (115g) grated vegan cheese – Redwoods Cheezly*
1 med onion, finely chopped
2 oz (55g) mushrooms, finely chopped
1.5 oz (40g) gluten-free breadcrumbs/well-cooked millet
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 tbsp lemon juice – optional
salt and pepper

1. Put oil into pan, add water and lentils and simmer at the lowest heat until lentils are soft (they change colour slightly when cooked). This takes about 20 minutes.

2. Take lentils off the heat and mix in vegan cheese, onion, mushrooms, breadcrumbs, mixed herbs and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Place in a well-greased oven dish and bake at 180C/Gas Mark 4 for 45 minutes or until golden-brown on top. Can be served hot or cold and feeds 4.

This cheesy lentil slice is very versatile, it can be eaten cold or hot and can be re-heated in the oven or under the grill.

The mixture can be frozen before or after baking. If you bake the cheesy slice and then freeze it, be sure to serve it hot after you have defrosted it, it won’t taste as good cold (freezing it affects the texture and this is noticeable if you serve it cold).