Crumble with cheddar and herbs

I promised my vegetable crumble recipe the other day, and so I have delivered today. Although, in reality this recipe varies based on the vegetables I have in the house. For example in the winter, it might consist of root vegetables in which case I would make the sauce more stock and gravy-like with sage and rosemary in the crumble. Alternatively, and like today, if I have the more Mediterranean vegetables in the house, I will opt for a tomato based sauce with oregano and basil in the crumble. Basically, the choice is yours.


What you will need

1 aubergine

2 cloves of garlic

A pinch of chilli flakes

1 courgette

2 leeks

1 onion

½ a butternut squash

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

2 table spoons of tomato puree

1 table spoon of chopped capers

2 table spoons of balsamic vinegar

150g plain flour

100g of mature Cheddar

50g of softened butter

1 table spoon of seeds (optional)

Handful of fresh herbs (I opted for oregano, basil and chives)


Chop the onion and garlic and sauté in some oil until softened. Slice the courgette and leek and chop the aubergine and butternut squash into cubes and add to the softened onions and garlic. Soften the vegetables for 5-10 minutes on a low heat before adding the chopped tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, chilli and tomato puree. Add the same amount of water as tomatoes (i.e fill the tin and add to the pan, plus a little bit more). Cook and reduce the vegetables for about 20 minutes. You will want to ensure there is still some sauce for baking. 


In this time you can make your crumble. It is not dissimilar to making a sweet crumble, it’s a similar process of combining flour with butter, but instead of sugar, the other ingredient is cheddar and I add my omega 3 mixed seeds and the chopped herbs. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together using your fingers and thumbs to combine until they look like breadcrumbs.


Transfer the vegetables to a casserole dish and cover with the crumble and bake for 30-40 minutes in a preheated oven at 220 degrees until the crumble has browned and crisped. A word of caution if you don’t plan to bake straight away let the vegetables cool down and put the crumble on just before you bake so that it doesn’t go soggy.
 

As I stated before, this can be made using whatever vegetables you have to hand. The filling can also include green lentils or beans for some added protein.