Cherry tomato crumble
Remember the vegetable crumble recipe I posted back in May? At the time I’m not sure I raved about it quite as much as I should have – it’s still one of my absolute favourite recipes of the whole year. Seriously out of this world! (alien crumble…?)
I knew it would be hard to top my original crumble, but I thought I’d bring the recipe back to life in a new incarnation. This time I went with one of my favourite flavour combinations: tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. They’re usually served together as a simple caprese salad, but I love using classic combinations in different ways, and salad isn’t my favourite thing in the world (even a salad that’s 33% cheese). So: cherry tomato crumble!
Let me tell you: caprese salad has nothing on this baby. How could adding a crumbly, oaty topping do anything other than improve it tenfold?! It was inevitable really. Plus, it’s barely harder to make than the salad version (okay… it’s definitely harder, but still not even remotely hard).
Start by roasting the cherry tomatoes with some onion – the tomatoes cook down to become really rich and sweet. You want to cook them so they’re just beginning to burst. You don’t need to add any sort of sauce, as the juicy tomatoes are perfectly moist on their own.
Then top the roasted tomatoes with some fresh mozzarella and basil, as well as the oaty crumble mixture. The melty mozzarella also adds to the sauciness of the dish, making everything nice and gooey. It’s a lovely contrast to the crunchy topping!
We had this cherry tomato crumble as a main dish with some salad and a nice slice of garlic bread to fit with the Italian-style flavours. However if you’d prefer, it would make a lovely side dish for an Italian banquet.
(as if I ever have banquets…)
Cherry tomato crumble
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Print Pin CommentIngredients
- 750 g cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 large onion halved then thinly sliced
- 1/2 tbsp oil
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 35 g butter
- 50 g plain flour
- 30 g rolled oats
- 30 g vegetarian parmesan-style cheese grated
- 2 tbsp fresh basil chopped
- 125 g fresh mozzarella sliced
Instructions
- Toss the cherry tomatoes and sliced onion in a small amount of oil, and season well. Lay out the vegetables in a baking dish (mine measured around 9 inches square), and roast at 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F) for 30 minutes, until the tomatoes are just beginning to split.
- Meanwhile, prepare the crumble topping. Rub the butter and flour together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the oats and grated parmesan, and mix to combine.
- When the tomatoes are ready, add the fresh basil, and mix. Spread the tomatoes into a single layer, and top with the slices of mozzarella. Sprinkle over the crumble topping, and return to the oven for a further 25 minutes or so, until the crumble topping is crispy and golden brown.
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
Love roasted tomatoes? Try them in a salad with aubergine and feta!
Mmmm, this looks mouthwatering.
What an inspired idea, love this and also how easy it sounds to put together. Brill!
Oh I do love a savoury crumble! This is like a caprese for the winter :) Also love that you used oats in the topping – I can imagine it’s delicious :)
I do other vegetable crumbles and gratins but never tomato. This looks fab and sounds fab, and so easy too!
I’m so not a fan of tomatoes, but this does look really good. I meant to try your veggie crumble!
You are using g instead of cups, tsp. etc. Where do I find the translations? Love you recipes and want to try them!
Thank you
Hi Faith, yes I use the standard UK recipe format. I do add cup measurements where I can but I obviously forgot for this recipe, sorry! The conversion will be different depending on which ingredient you’re looking at, but there are some handy websites with lots of conversions.
Baked/Roasted cherry tomatoes are seriously one of my favorite things!! So this definitely is a must. I can just imagine taking a bite out of it…. YUM!
This looks delectable! I’m surprised that using fresh mozzarella doesn’t make the end result too liquid-y…do you think that using low-moisture regular mozzarella would yield an end product that’s too dry?
It actually just melted into the tomatoes, and the liquid that didn’t cook off just made everything nice and gooey :) You could definitely experiment with other types of mozzarella though! The tomatoes are juicy enough that I don’t think it would be dry :)