This is a kind of up-side-down savoury crumble. It’s a really handy recipe because you can use almost any vegetables that are in season - and you can guarantee everyone will want second helpings.
Ingredients
per pair of children
For the base:
60 grms of wholemeal breadcrumbs
(or about 2 slices of bread - left to dry and then whizzed in a blender)
60 grms of chopped mixed nuts
15 grms of sunflower and pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon of chopped herbs (these can be dried mixed herbs)
1 small clove of garlic
15 grms of butter
Small head of broccoli broken up (about 100 grms)
4 florets of cauliflower (about 100 grms)
20 grms of cheddar cheese
For the white sauce:
15 grams of butter
15 grams of plain flour
300 mls milk
Preheat oven to (350f /180c)
01If you are making breadcrumbs from scratch, leave slices of bread out until dry and then whiz into crumbs in a blender or food processor.
02Finely chop the garlic.
03In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs,the nuts and seeds, the herbs the garlic and the butter. Mix well.
04Spread this on the bottom of a ‘smallish’ pie dish – the mixture should be about 2 cms deep.
05Bake in the oven for 5 or so minutes until it is just starting to brown.
06Meanwhile in a saucepan with a little water, steam the broccoli and cauliflower until just tender.
07Then make the white sauce – melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat and add the flour. Take off the heat, mix well and then add the milk. Keep mixing until you have a smooth sauce with no lumps.
08Return the saucepan to the heat, bring it to the boil (it bubbles when it boils) and then turn it down and let it cook gently for about 5 more minutes. Add a few twists of black pepper.
You know the sauce is cooked when it becomes thick and when if you try it (let it cool on a spoon first) you can’t taste the flour any more.
09Arrange the vegetables onto the breadcrumb base, pour over the sauce and scatter over the grated cheese.
10Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling.
