This spicy tomato crumble is made with tomatoes, red wine, olives, capers, and pepperoncini filling with an oat and bread crumb topping. A hearty, savory side that pairs magnificently with anything or makes a lovely vegetarian main.
This delicious puttanesca-style spicy tomato crumble with a crunchy topping is great with grilled fish. For an interesting change, scoop a large spoonful on top of fresh cooked pasta.–Mary Cech
☞ Contents
Spicy Tomato Crumble
Ingredients
For the crumble topping
- 1/3 cup dried bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup quick rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- 2 tablespoons (1 oz) unsalted butter cold and cut into chunks
For the spicy tomato filling
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon capers rinsed, drained, and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons finely diced pepperoncini* (see *What You Need To Know About Pepperoncini below)
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- One (28-ounce) can whole Italian tomatoes with juice roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives roughly chopped
Directions
Make the crumble topping
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs, oats, flour, Parmesan cheese, oregano, sage, and salt. Add the butter and work it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly.
Make the spicy tomato filling
- Put the garlic, capers, pepperoncini, honey, basil, wine, tomatoes, and olives in a medium saucepan over high heat. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 25 minutes to reduce the filling slightly.
- Pour the spicy tomato filling into a 1 1/2-quart (6-cup) casserole dish and sprinkle with the crumble topping. Place the crumble on a baking sheet and bake until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 15 minutes.
- Serve the tomato crumble hot from the oven.
Notes
*What You Need To Know About Pepperoncini
Pepperoncini are also known as “Tuscan peppers” and are medium-hot in taste with a hint of sweet. A few of these chopped peppers will lend a little lift to a sandwich and pizzazz to tomato dishes. They come pickled and are available in most supermarkets.Show Nutrition
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Delicious! Great served as a side dish, even better with pasta. My favorite combination was as a brunch addition, served next to a pasta frittata. (Serving it next to eggs also added to the visual appeal, since this isn’t the prettiest dish ever.) My version was overall beige. I wholeheartedly recommend it for taste but not for looks. But one mouthful of the rich spicy tomato filling and it doesn’t matter a bit how it looks.
It’s very easy to prepare for and assemble this tomato crumble. The filling sets up nicely once the topping is applied and the crumble is baked, so resist any tendency to reduce it too much. I had to keep an eye on the filling while it was stewing, stirring occasionally while it was reducing.
The rich, tomato-y and savoury flavours complement grilled cod or grilled lamb very nicely.
This tomato crumble was straightforward to make and gave delicious results. I also used the topping for some baked fish and the sharpness of the capers wonderfully complemented the softness of the fish. I also love the kick from the pepperoncini and the crunch of the topping, which is much more robust and full of texture than a standard bread crumb topping. Definitely a recipe I will go back to.
I really enjoyed this tomato crumble. I served it with both steak and fish and it was wonderful with both. The addition of capers and olives really set it apart. I enjoy recipes that are successful with canned or fresh produce and this one certainly fits the bill!
This spicy tomato crumble is a very easy recipe to make. I think the honey and rolled oats added made a delicious topping for the grilled fish I served it over. Next time, we’ll try the tomato crumble over pasta. The tangy sauce and crunchy topping should be a great foil for the pasta.
Originally published September 16, 2019
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If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Yummy! I used fresh tomatoes and even my kids ate it up.
Thanks, Ockerman! You know it’s a winner when the kids are gobbling it up.
Trying to use up pantry ingredients these days, I was searching for a savory recipe to use some of my quick-cooking oats. This unique side dish used not only my pantry oats, but some of my pantry herbs, honey, olives and capers. I opted for fresh cherry tomatoes since I had them on hand and they ‘popped’ nicely in the hot oven. The topping was just crumbly, crunchy and browned enough. I think it would be a lovely topping idea for a number of savory veggie fillings: summer squash, eggplant plus tomatoes, or a modern twist on a green bean casserole? I loved this recipe so much that I am definitely adding its source cookbook to my ‘to-buy-and-soon!’ list.
Anna, now that’s what I love to hear: You’ve discovered a new cookbook and will be getting it. That’s part of our mission: to introduce home cooks to new and exciting recipes, authors, foods, and techniques.
We found this tomato crumble so surprisingly delicious, that we plan to have friends over for dinner next week and make it again as soon as possible. With grilled tuna it was the perfect dinner. Sophisticated and memorable. We were dazzled.
Lovely Shelly, hoping your dinner guests are dazzled as well!
I enjoyed this tomato crumble immensely. In the dead of winter this will be a winner. During summer, I think substituting the canned tomatoes with fresh tomatoes and dried herbs with fresh herbs would be worth trying. We will be making this again.
Kristina, I agree with you–subbing fresh ingredients for the canned and dried is the way to go in summer.