Wondering what to do with all those beautiful summer tomatoes you see in the market? Ready to expand your horizons beyond the classic tomato, basil, mozzarella salad? Here is one of our favorite recipes to make use of this year’s prolific local tomato haul.
Savory Tomato Cobbler with Blue Cheese Biscuits
The Blue Cheese Biscuits:
2 cups AP Flour
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 tablespoon Granulated Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper, Coarse Ground
6 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Cold, Cubed
1/2 cup Blue Cheese Crumbles (we love the Cascadilla Blue from Lakin’s Gorgeous Cheese)
3/4 cups Buttermilk, Cold
The Filling:
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Butter
2 Onions, Sliced
4 Garlic Cloves, Minced
2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
2-3 pounds Fresh, Local Tomatoes (like these ones from South Paw Farm), Halved or Quartered (Based on size. Leave whole if using Cherry!)
1/4 cup Basil, Fresh and Chopped (or any fresh, green herbs such as parsley, oregano, etc.)
3 tablespoons All Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 teaspoon Salt (or more to taste)
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
To make the Biscuits:
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add cold butter cubes. Use your fingers to break up the butter cubes by rubbing the pieces into the flour until incorporated. Work quickly so that your butter stays cold. You want your butter pieces to range in size from pea to marble. Add the blue cheese crumbles to the mix and toss gently to incorporate. Stream in the cold buttermilk all at once, and use a fork to incorporate. The dough should be shaggy, but hold together when pinched. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead dough until it comes together as a disk. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate while you assemble the filling.
To make the Local Tomato Filling:
Preheat oven to 375. In a medium saucepan over med-low heat, saute onions in olive oil and butter until slightly caramelized, stirring occasionally (about 20 minutes). Add garlic and cook for a minute more until fragrant, Remove pan from heat and pour in the balsamic vinegar. Set aside. In a baking dish (8×8 square or 9″ pie plate ideal), toss together the halved and quartered fresh tomatoes, chopped herbs, flour, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Add in the caramelized onions, garlic and balsamic. Toss until everything is evenly coated in flour. Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes.
While the tomato filling is baking, remove the biscuit dough from the fridge and turn back out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll out the dough to 3/4-1 inch thickness. Use a biscuit cutter (2″ round) to cut out biscuits. Dip the cutter in the flour if it gets sticky, and never twist the cutter when releasing! This crushes the layers of your dough. Re-roll your scrap dough to make as many biscuits as you choose. (The dough freezes well!)
Remove the par-baked filling from the oven, and space your biscuits across the top. Space allows steam to release so your biscuits stay crispy. Brush the tops of the biscuits with more buttermilk, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Return the dish to the oven and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, until the biscuits are golden and tomato juice is bubbling.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Serve warm.