Between my garden and my CSA I have been drowning in fresh, juicy summer tomatoes.  I remembered seeing a new friend post about a tomato cobbler she had made. “Tomatoes in pie form? Hmmm”, I thought.  I wasn’t totally convinced, so naturally I had to try it for myself, and I’m so glad I did.

Tomato Cobbler with Blue Cheese Cornmeal Biscuits
adapted from Joy the Baker and Food Loves Writing

Ingredients:

for the biscuits:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used Einkorn flour)
1/2 cup corn meal
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
6 tablespoon unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
1 cup cold buttermilk, divided (I made a dairy free buttermilk by mixing 1 tablespoon lemon juice with 1 cup almond milk)

for the filling:

2  tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 pounds cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup coarsely chopped basil
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I used Einkorn)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and coarsely ground black pepper

Directions:

to make the biscuits:

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, coconut sugar, and salt.  Add cold, cubed butter.  Using your fingers, a fork, or a pastry cutter, quickly cut the fat into the dry ingredients until well incorporated. The butter should be scattered in tiny pieces throughout the mixture.  Toss in blue cheese crumbles.  Create a small well in the center of the flour mixture.  Add 3/4 cup buttermilk (reserving the other 1/4 cup for brushing on the biscuits) and stir.  Dump dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead dough about 10 times and form into a disk.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until the filling is assembled.

to make the filling:

Place rack in the upper third of the oven and heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Add butter to a skillet over medium heat.  Add sliced onions and season with salt and pepper.  Cook and brown onions, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 18 to 20 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for one minute more.   Remove pan from heat.

In a large bowl, toss together cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, chopped basil, flour, and red pepper flakes.  Add caramelized onions and toss together.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Pour the filling into a square baking dish.  Bake for 25 minutes.

Remove the biscuit dough from the fridge.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out biscuit dough into a 3/4 or 1-inch thickness (the less you mess with the dough, the better…you don’t want the butter to melt).  Use a round biscuit cutter or a glass cup to cut out biscuits. Remove the filling from the oven and carefully place 6-9 biscuits on top of the tomato filling.  Brush biscuit tops with remaining buttermilk and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Freeze any leftover dough for another use.

Return warm filling and biscuit dough to oven and bake for 17-20 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown and cooked through.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Scoop generous portions into a bowl.  Add a few crumbles of blue cheese. Enjoy!