Vegetarian mains
Leek and tarragon crumble with butterbeans and wilted greens
Crumbles don't always have to be fruity but they'll always have you scraping the dish clean. Make sure you cook the leeks gently without colouring. A burnt leek will taint the whole dish.
Cook's notes
You can pulse the topping ingredients in a food processor if you like but there is a mild and meditative quality to using your hands. You'll also have more control. Keep rubbing and sifting the crumble in your hands and the butter will eventually combine to produce a breadcrumb texture.
Ingredients
- 3 leeks
- 2 garlic cloves
- cooking oil e.g. sunflower or light olive
- 50g butter
- 75g buckwheat flour
- 25g ground almonds
- 25g oats
- 75ml white wine
- 1 tin butterbeans
- ½ tbsp dried tarragon
- 100g crème fraîche
- 50g Parmesan
- 1 pointed cabbage
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5. Trim away the root and any tough darker top leaves from the leeks. Split each in half and slice them into 2cm slices. Wash well to remove any mud or grit. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Drain and rinse the butterbeans.
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Step 2
Start cooking the leeks. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the saucepan and gently cook the leeks for 5 minutes until starting to soften. Stir occasionally making sure they don't catch and burn.
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Step 3
While the leeks cook, chop the cold butter into small cubes and place in the mixing bowl with the flour, almonds and oats. Mix and crumble together with your fingertips and palms until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
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Step 4
Add the garlic to the leeks and cook gently for 2 more minutes. Add the white wine and reduce by half. Add the butterbeans and gently heat through for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the tarragon, two thirds of the crème fraîche and half of the Parmesan. Season the mix with salt and pepper to taste.
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Step 5
Tip it into the baking dish. Add the other half of the Parmesan to the crumble mix. Combine well and cover the leeks and beans with an even layer. Press it lightly in the palm of your hands before crumbling it across so that it forms small granola-type lumps. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden and the filling is bubbling from the edges.
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Step 6
While the crumble cooks, wash and finely shred as much of the pointed cabbage as you'd like to serve as a side (about half). Clean the saucepan that the leeks were cooked in.
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Step 7
When the crumble is nearly ready, heat a small amount of oil in the saucepan. Add the cabbage and cook until dark and wilted, about 5-6 minutes. Season with a little salt and pepper. Serve each person a generous scoop of crumble with a side of wilted cabbage.