Vegetarian mains
Winter vegetable crumble
Everyone is familiar with the idea of a sweet crumble, but savoury crumbles are wonderful too. There is something so comforting and homely about vegetables in creamy, cheesy sauce covered with a crunchy crumble topping. This is a really adaptable recipe which works well with most vegetables, so use whatever you have to hand.
Cook's notes
Feel free to experiment with different flavouring and spice mixes. Serve with a fresh salad with a sharp dressing.
Ingredients
For the winter veg
- 450g parsnips
- 450g carrots
- 200g kale
- 250g celeriac
For the bechamel sauce:
- 40g butter
- 40g plain flour
- 1 tsp Ras el Hanout, or try dried herbs like oregano, rosemary etc
- 500ml milk
- 100g mature cheddar
- 1 small onion
For the crumble topping:
- 100g oats
- 50g flaked almonds
- 50g butter
- 50g flour
- 25g pine nuts, or try hazelnuts
- 1 tsp Ras El Hanout, or spices of choice
Method
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Step 1
Preheat oven to 180°C/Gas 5.
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Step 2
Peel and chop the parsnips and carrots into 3cm chunks. Destalk the kale and roughly chop the leaves. Quarter a medium sized celeriac, then peel and grate one quarter. Place the parsnips and carrots in a pan of salted water and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down a little and cook for 8 minutes. Grate the cheese.
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Step 3
Next, prepare the bechamel sauce. Heat the butter in a saucepan, add the flour and Ras el Hanout and stir and cook for roughly 1 minute over a medium heat. Slowly add the milk whilst stirring with a whisk. Gently bring up the heat, and once it’s about to boil, turn off the heat and add the grated cheese. Peel and cut the onion into halves and add them to infuse. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
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Step 4
To make the crumble topping, put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, apart from the butter. Use a knife to cut the butter into small cubes into the bowl. Use your fingers to rub it all together until the butter has combined with all the ingredients. When you’re done, you shouldn’t be able to see any chunks of butter.
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Step 5
In a casserole dish, combine the vegetables and the bechamel sauce (remove and discard the onion first). Mix to ensure the vegetables are evenly coated. Spread out the crumble mixture on top and lightly press it down with your hands, making sure it’s completely covered. Transfer to the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes, until the topping has gone a lovely golden brown.