Courgette, walnut and rosemary bread with honey butter

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180C/170C fan*/gas mark Butter or lightly oil a 22 x 12cm loaf tin.

Step 2

Put 2 coarsely grated courgettes into a bowl with 2 large lightly beaten eggs, 80ml olive oil, 80g melted butter, 45g soft light-brown sugar, a generous amount of freshly ground nutmeg, the finely grated zest of 1 lemon and the chopped leaves of 1 rosemary sprig. Add 1 tsp salt. Mix all this together, then add ½ tsp baking powder, ¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda, 225g plain flour and 30g walnuts. Scrape this into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Lay 3 rosemary sprigs on the surface.

Step 3

Bake for 50-60 minutes. Put a skewer into the middle of the bread – if it’s ready, the skewer should come out clean. If it is not ready, return to the oven and check again in 5-10 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin, then carefully turn it out.

Step 4

To make the butter, toast ½ tsp coriander seeds, ½ tsp fennel seeds and 4 black peppercorns in a dry pan until you can smell them (about 20 seconds). Tip them into a mortar and pestle and crush them. Add ½ tsp chilli flakes. Work these spices and 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds into 225g soft butter, adding 1 tbsp honey as you go. Scrape into a small bowl or ramekin, cover and put in the fridge to firm up. Serve with the bread.