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Vegetable Crumble

If you've looked through my blog pages you'll have seen how this recipe came about. I was on holiday in Wales and went to a pub where they had a courgette crumble as one of the vegetarian options, which stood out for me as something I hadn't tried. What came out was lovely but had more resemblance to a courgette fondue than a crumble so I started working on my own.

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After a few iterations I think it's finally ready to share. As a full on meat eater I often shy away from vegetarian options as they seem too often to be quite mushy so I've packed in the veg and made it something you actually need a knife and fork to eat. I hope you enjoy.

Ingredients

Serves 2 (22cm x16cm pyrex dish)

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  • 1 small aubergine

  • 1 courgette

  • 4 tomatoes or 1 can chopped

  • 150g chestnut mushrooms

  • 1 red onion

  • 2 garlic cloves

  • 1/2 tsp dried basil

  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano

  • 1 tbsp tomato puree

  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

  • 100ml water

  • 2 tsp plain flour (or cornflour)

  • 120g grated extra mature cheddar

  • 4 tbsp olive oil

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For the Crumble

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  • 150g plain flour

  • 80g unsalted butter

  • 1 tsp dried thyme

  • Pinch of salt

Method

We'll start with making the crumble. Put all the crumble ingredients into a large bowl then rub the butter between your fingers until it starts to come together and you have those perfect little nuggets of buttery flour. This can take a little while as you spread the butter throughout so have a little break every now and then to avoid dreaded finger cramp. Once it's done you can put it in the fridge while you make the rest.

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Slice the aubergine in half lengthways then into 1cm thick half circles. Now slice the courgette and mushrooms into the same thickness slices. This will mean you have some good sized chunks of veg that make this feel substantial. Now cut your onion into chunks a few centimetres thick. As it cooks these will break up a bit and spread throughout the rest. Last is the garlic which we will cut into quarters.

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Add all the veg you have just cut with about 4 tbsp of olive oil to your roasting dish and put it in the oven at 180c (356f) for 30 mins turning halfway through. I'm using a small rectangular one about 22cm x 16cm. If you are using the same it may only just fit, but this is good, the veg will decrease in size as it cooks and that way we get a good depth for the finished meal.

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While that is doing we can make the sauce. Chop the tomatoes up small and add to a saucepan with the balsamic vinegar. Simmer these for 10 mins until they are broken down then add in 100ml of water (50ml if you used tinned tomatoes), the basil, oregano, tomato puree and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring this up to a simmer then add the 2 tsp of flour to equal parts cold water and stir into a paste. Spoon a little of the hot sauce into the paste and stir before poring into the sauce. This just stops the flour creating lumps. Simmer this for 5 mins more until it is nice and thickened.

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Once the veg is done press it down a bit so you have a gap at the top of the dish and the veg is nicely packed together. Then spread the tomato sauce over the top. This will gradually spread through the veg as it cooks taking all that flavour throughout the dish. Now spread the cheddar over the top in a layer then get the crumble out of the fridge and layer that on top. Hopefully it is fairly tight to the top of the dish at this point.

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Turn the oven up to 190c (374f) and bake the dish for 40 mins until the crumble topping has gone golden.

 

Be careful now as this is like molten lava so you can leave it for a few minutes before you serve so as not to burn anyone's mouths.

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