Tomato cobbler is a savory cousin to the traditional sweet peach cobbler I make for the family. This time, tomatoes are the star. Why did I decide to make tomato cobbler? The honest truth is that we had too many tomatoes and I thought that they would spoil before we had a chance to eat them. I hate when that happens. Don’t you?
Tomatoes are rich in vitamins C, K and A. Let’s remind ourselves of why these vitamins matter.
- Vitamin C: The great healer. Vitamin C helps the body make collagen, repairs tissues and supports healthy bones and teeth.
- Vitamin K: You can count on Vitamin K to support healthy bone tissue and to help the body with blood clotting and prevention of excessive bleeding.
- Vitamin A: Good eyesight, healthy teeth and skin and support of a strong immune system are what vitamin A offers.
Which Tomatoes Make The Best Tomato Cobbler?
There are at least 10,000 different kinds of tomatoes available to us. That means that you can make this tomato cobbler dish with just about any tomato you have on hand. I used cherry tomatoes and Campari tomatoes. I like the Campari tomatoes because they are larger than the cherry tomatoes and have a sweeter taste.
Did you know that it’s best not to put tomatoes in the fridge? If you keep them on the counter in a nice bowl or basket they will continue to ripen into sweet and juicy treats. The cold refrigerator often turns them into mush if you don’t eat them right away.
More Reasons to Love Tomatoes
- Tomatoes are just about 95% water. In addition to actually drinking water, we can eat our water by adding more fruits like tomatoes to our plate.
- The deep red color in the tomatoes is proof of lycopene. Lycopene has been linked to reduced risk of heart disease and certain cancers. This tomato cobbler recipe tastes good and is a great example of plant power.
- Tomatoes are a great source of key nutrients like potassium and folate.
- Tomatoes promote heart health, healthy skin and can help boost your immune system.
- Tomatoes are low in calories and high in fiber, making them a great choice for healthy snacking.
Of Course There Are Biscuits!
What’s really fun about this tomato cobbler is the delicious drop biscuits. You can make your biscuits from all purpose flour or you can pump up the volume on the nutrients with a whole grain flour like wheat. I am a plant-based advocate so getting more grains on your plate to go with this tomato cobbler sounds like a winning combination to me!
Why Home Made Tomato Cobbler?
We are bombarded with ads to purchase ready made meals. I get it. Life is hectic and sometimes we all need a break. I choose to make home made tomato cobbler mostly because I want to be in control of the ingredients. So many of the pre-packaged foods are really high in sodium and other ingredients that help preserve their shelf life.
So I’ve been on a mission to find meals that are easy to make with fresh ingredients. It also helps when they are not particularly time consuming. This tomato cobbler dish is exactly that. We had it for dinner and it was great to have it for lunch the next day. Now that’s what I call a two for one special! Enjoy!
LA Dunn is a plant-based advocate from the Bronx who is always on the look out for fun and new ways to put more plants on her plate. She is also excited about connecting with the Black Girls Eat community. Are you looking for ways to add more plants to your plate? Let’s do it together! Here are some ways to connect with LA:
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Ingredients
- For the Biscuits
- 2 cups flour (all purpose or whole grain)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 8 tbs cold butter (cut into small pieces)
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp salt
- 1.5 cups + 2 tbs heavy cream
- For the Cobbler
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion sliced thinly
- 2 tbs minced garlic
- 4 cups tomatoes (sliced in half if cherry in quarters if other)
- 3 tbs all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees
- Add oil to a large skillet and heat with a medium flame. Add onions and cook them until they become soft and translucent. This should take about 20-25 minutes. Add garlic and toss onions. Add all of the tomatoes, 3 tbs of flour, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Transfer the entire mixture to a baking dish. I used 13 x9.
- Add flour, baking powder and salt to a bowl and whisk. Add pieces of butter one at a time and squeeze with your fingers. The butter and flour will look like little clumps of dough. Add cheese and 1.5 cups heavy cream. Stir with a fork. The biscuit dough will be a little sticky.
- Take a large spoon and “drop” the biscuit dough over the top of the tomato filling. You should be able to make 6-8 biscuits. Brush the top of the dough with the remaining heavy cream.
- Bake for 1 hour. (Watch your oven as you may need 10 less or 10 more minutes)
- Let cool and serve warm.
- I had extra biscuit dough so I added them to muffin wrappers and baked them for 20 minutes in a muffin tin.