Crumble with Tomato Confit

Have you ever waken up in the morning, craving for a crumble? Some of you, maybe, but for the most of us I guess no. Neither have I so far. I was among these people who like a cup of coffee in the morning! But feeding a food blog can challenge our usual ways...

This keeps you alert, always thinking of something new to cook, reading lots of books, magazines and other blogs about food and nutrition. And one day, you wake up with a desperate need for crumbles! This is what happened to me last Sunday. I needed a crumble. Which taste would I choose? That was the question. I started with a classic recipe, peer-chocolate. Then I tried raspberry-rhubarb. So delicious! (I will post the recipe, promise). Then I thought that a salted crumble could be interesting too. For its color and the aromas it brings to the crumble, I chose this Moroccan recipe of tomato confit.
 
If you wonder about the base of the cake, it is easier than you can imagine. I was also quite surprised when I learned that you can do the base with the exact same ingredients as the topping. You would only need to flatten it down in your baking tray.

Crumble with Tomato Confit
Gives approx. a dozen crumble slices

For the tomato confit
35 oz / 1.5 kg tomatoes
1 onion
A small cinnamon stick
A few saffron pistils
1 tsp ginger powder
Pepper, salt
2 to 3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp honey

For the crumble
8.5 oz / 240 g whole flour
4.25 oz / 120 g hazelnut powder or almond powder
4.25 oz / 120 g Parmesan
2 oz / 60 g butter cubes
½ cup / 15 cl olive oil

1. Start with the crumble. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix with your fingertips, until it seems like a breadcrumb. Set aside in the fridge.

2. Prepare the confit. Finely chop the onion. In a saucepan, sauté the onion a few minutes with a little oil, the ginger, the saffron (preferably soaked before, you can also add the water with it), the cinnamon stick, salt and pepper.
Cut the tomatoes in half. Remove seeds. Grate them and leave the peal. Add the tomatoes in the saucepan. Add the oil, and let cook for approx. 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the honey at the end of the cooking. There should be no water left and the texture should be kind of “crystallized”. Let cool.

3. Pre-heat your oven (190°C / 375°F). In your baking tray (square or round baking tray with a parchment paper), pour the half of the crumble mixture, flatten it down and squash it in the corners. Layer the tomato confit on top of the crumble base. Sprinkle the remaining crumble mixture on top of the tomatoes. Place it in the oven to cook approx. 35 min until the topping looks golden. Let it cool (even in the fridge) before sliding onto a cutting board.

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