INGREDIENTS
For the cheesy crumble topping
125g diced Salted Butter
200g wholewheat flour
75g Jumbo oats
25g roughly chopped hazelnuts or Brazil nuts or Pecans
25g mixed seeds
1 Tablespoon freshly chopped Parsley
1 Tablespoon freshly chopped Chives
100g grated Mature Tasty Cheddar
50g Grated Parmesan Reggiano
For the crumble filling
A mixture of vegetables that you have available – below are suggestions – put in what you have
1 large onion finely sliced
1 lge potato, diced
1 courgette, diced
1 red chilli – finely chopped (optional)
4 tomatoes chopped
Handful frozen peas
1 leek, sliced
3 grated carrots
1 Red Pepper chunkily chopped
Handful spinach or Swiss Chard
½ fennel bulb
Handful of runner beans
2 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Tablespoon of chopped chives
1 chicken or vegetable stock cube
100ml dry white wine
250ml Crème Fraiche or Double Cream
1 tsp of sea salt & 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
METHOD
- Make your vegetable cheese & herb crumble by rubbing your flour, butter, oats, by hand or briefly in a food processor. Then add nuts, herbs and seeds, you should have a fairly coarse bread crumb texture. Then mix in the grated cheddar.
- (TIP Put surplus topping in a bag in the freezer for future use. Could be for popping on GRATINS, or a quick base for a savoury scone or pastry case)
- Chop all your vegetables roughly to same bitesize, put into a large roasting tin and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in oven at 220C for about 30-40 minutes until well coloured and tinged and slightly charred on the edges.
- Take out of the oven and put on the hob on medium heat. Add the stock cube and melt into the vegetables, together with a small glass of white wine – reduce briefly
- Stir in Crème Fraiche or cream and bring to simmer to thicken a little for around five minutes
- Add herbs and season to taste, and leave to cool for about 15 minutes before putting on the topping.
- Preheat the oven to 190˚C.
- Place the vegetable mixture in a shallow oven proof dish and top with an even layer (about 1/2″ inch) of the crumble over the vegetables and finish with the grated Parmesan. Don’t be tempted to put a really deep layer on the vegetables as a greater depth of topping can make the crumble difficult to cook through properly and lose its lovely crispness.
- Bake in the oven for around 45 minutes. The savoury crumble will bubble through from the saucy vegetables and the topping should be golden brown.
- Sprinkle your vegetable cheese & herb crumble with extra parsley and serve warm from the oven with some buttery soft well dressed lettuce leaves.