Zac ‘n’ cheese with basil courgettes from East by West by Jasmine Hemsley

Ingredients

• 200 g (2 cups) brown rice penne or other type of pasta
• handful of fresh basil, torn
• extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 2 large courgettes, sliced into rounds
• black sesame seeds, to decorate (optional)
• 40 g (scant ¼ cup) Pecorino (or Parmesan), grated
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 3 medium carrots (about 300g), grated
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 100 g (½ cup) red split lentils, rinsed
• 500 ml (2 cups) water
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 65 g (½ cup) sunflower seeds
• 2 pinches of ground white pepper
• 2 pinches of ground nutmeg (optional)
• 200 g (scant 1 cup) full-fat cottage cheese or homemade whole-milk ricotta
• 4 pinches of freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar