“In theory, savoury crumbles are a really good idea, so I don’t get why we don’t make them more often,” says Esther Clark, who writes The Good Home Cook Substack. Perhaps it’s because their sweet sibling – apple, blackberry, rhubarb, pear – is such an icon, but, as Clark notes, “Crumbles are incredibly forgiving: they go into one tin, so there’s barely any washing-up, and they freeze well, too, making them a good weeknight number.”
In a savoury scenario, you’re essentially making a pie filling, then, rather than faffing around with a pastry lid, you’re rubbing together butter and flour, and maybe stirring in some oats, cheese, seeds or nuts. “For the filling, you can either go down the stewy route with tomatoes and stock, or go for a bechamel vibe,” says Mark Diacono, author of Vegetables. “But you can’t really do better than root vegetables [celeriac or carrots, say], some onion, plus peas for sweetness.” Clark sits firmly in the creamy, comforting camp with a bechamel base and chunky ingredients, such as shredded leftover roast chicken, for texture. “You could also do something like a fish pie mix with poached white fish, leeks and spinach or cavolo nero,” she suggests, which would be crying out for a simple, cheddary topping.
