Tomato Cobbler

This is one of my all-time favorite summer recipes. The name cobbler is usually reserved for sweet fruit deserts, but once you realize “cobbler” is just code for “topped with fluffy, buttery biscuits” you can understand why this dish is automatically amazing. The idea originally came from Martha Stewart, but I make it a bit differently every time, each with great success. This time I used ground turkey and cherry tomatoes.

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1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, halved and sliced thinly
1 quart tomatoes (can be heirloom, paste, cherry, or red slicers), cored and chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, oregano, or basil
optional:
3 ears of corn, kernels cut of the cob
1 pound ground turkey or 1/2 pound chopped bacon
1 medium zucchini or summer squash

Topping:

2 cups flour (white, whole wheat, or a combo)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold butter
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I like gouda for this)
1 -1 1/2 cups milk

1. Heat oil in a large oven-proof* skillet. Add onions and garlic and cook until translucent. Add any raw protein (such as ground turkey or chopped bacon). Cook through. Add any other veggies, tomatoes, and spices. Simmer while mixing the topping.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut up 1 stick of butter into pea-sized pieces. Toss the butter with the flour mix until coated. With your hands or a pastry cutter, break up the butter into the flour until it looks like coarse cornmeal. Whisk in shredded cheese and milk. It will come together in a wet, sticky batter.

3. Dollop large scoops of batter on top of filling, leaving a few gaps. Bake at 375 until biscuit topping is fluffy and turning golden brown on top, and you can see the filling bubbling up through the cracks, about 40 minutes.

*If you don’t have a cast-iron or other oven-proof skillet, make the first part of the recipe in any skillet, then transfer the tomato filling to a casserole dish for baking.
Text and photography by Katie Darlington- Taproot employee, home cooking enthusiast, and farm-to-kitchen blogger.  More of her recipes and writing can be found on her own blog, A Season to Taste.