Baked herby sausages with courgette and tomato

This was one of my favourite breakfasts on a weekday when I didn’t have that much time.  Now that I know I’m coeliac I use the gluten-free alternatives mentioned below.  Cooking in the oven makes it handy, because (unlike grilling) you don’t have to watch it every minute.   These Taifun brand sausages are vegan and contain 11% protein so are great for keeping you satisfied for longer.  Check out my “larder” in the menu for where to buy these and other unusual foods.  Make sure you get the “grill herb sausages” though, they are the nicest.  These sausages are not gluten-free as they contain soya sauce and small amounts of oats (which can be contaminated with gluten grains).  For the gluten-free option, see the Taifun Basil Tofu option below in the recipe.  You could also eat this for a light lunch or dinner.   All the Taifun products keep for ages in the fridge.

 

For 1 person:

1 tomato
1 medium courgette
2 Taifun grill herb sausages (these contain gluten, for gluten free- slice 1/2 a block of Taifun Basil Tofu or Tofu Rosso into 3 thick slices instead)
Extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano or 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Put the sausages on a baking sheet in the oven and switch on to 170C (or 150C in a fan oven).   Wash the courgette and tomato.  Halve the tomato and slice the courgette lengthways – sliced 1/2-2/3 cm thick is just about right, I think.
2. Leave the sausages to cook in the heating-up oven for around 25-30 minutes while you shower or generally get ready for the day.
3. After 25 mins remove the baking sheet from the oven.  The sausages or basil tofu should be swollen up and slightly coloured now.  Add the courgette slices and tomato halves  and pop into the oven for another 5 minutes.  This way the veggies will be hot but not mushy.  They will retain lots of nutrients this way.
4. Arrange everything on a plate, drizzle a teaspoon of olive oil over the courgette slices, sprinkle the oregano over the tomatoes and add a few good grinds of black pepper.Why this recipe is good for you:
   The oregano and tomatoes in this recipe are packed with antioxidants that help your health – by lowering inflammation, delaying ageing, and (in the case of oregano) inhibiting the growth of pathogenic (“bad”) organisms in the gut.  Research suggests that unfermented soya products (eg soya milk, textured soya vegetable protein) are not likely to be helpful to health whereas traditional products that are fermented (fermented tofu, tempeh, miso, natto) have lots of evidence to support usefulness in adult hormonal health especially in relation to breasts and prostate.  Fermented soya products are an excellent source of high quality protein to keep you feeling fuller for longer.  If you have autoimmune conditions though, you may need to avoid soya products.