I have bought sunflower seeds in bulk for several years now as they are one of the ingredients in my home-made gluten-free muesli. Additionally, I discovered that I could use them to make vegan ‘sour cream’. Personally, I do struggle a bit to see the resemblance to sour cream, however, it makes quite a nice savoury sauce/salad dressing.

Recently, I have begun toasting sunflower seeds to use. You do need to be careful and stir them constantly or they can go from raw to burnt very quickly.

I generally toast more than I need and store them in a sealed jar.

The toasted seeds add crunch and a pleasant nutty flavour to salads and savoury dishes.

I make a crunchy topping which is a mix of flaxseed meal, toasted sunflower seeds and nutritional yeast and seasoned with black pepper and garlic salt. Then I add a small amount of grated cheese but you could omit the cheese if you want an entirely plant-based topping.

Tonight’s dinner was a pasta casserole with the topping to add some extra interest and nutrients.