Eggplant and Heirloom Tomato Cobbler (Vegan)
It’s a one-pan, casserole-esque, eggplant and heirloom tomato cobbler! Savory, delicious, juicy summer tomatoes come together with eggplant and balsamic vinegar in a flavorful savory filling, topped with a cheesy, chive-studded, flaky vegan biscuit. Top with fresh basil for the ultimate late summer meal, scoop out in generous portions, and enjoy with a little wine as the sun goes down.
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Savory Cobbler
“I’m thinking of trying a tomato cobbler”, I tell my boyfriend, who’s mind is otherwise occupied. “Tomato”, he repeats, smiling, “…cobbler?”, and his face falls, looking confused. I can’t help but laugh. Making dishes that are usually sweet into savory dishes is one of my favorite things to do, and it happens in our house fairly frequently, yet every time I talk about it he acts like I’ve proposed some horrible and impossible feat. One of these days he will learn that my savory dishes with sweet names always turn out well, and just trust that I know what I’m doing, but until then I’ll get to enjoy many crestfallen looks at the idea of them. The whole encounter was perfected when my sister came down for dinner, and upon hearing it was tomato cobbler, gave me the same confused and uncertain look. So just to clarify a cobbler is just a dish consisting of either a fruit or savory filling (in this case both fruit and savory!), and topped with batter or biscuit before being baked. We opted for a cheesy chive biscuit atop our eggplant and tomato filling!
Wanna Make it Savory? Try one of these sweeter recipes, made savory!
- Sweet and Savory Tomato Jam Recipe
- White Bean Watermelon Gazpacho with Savory Almond Seaweed Granola
- Garlic Yeasted Savory Zucchini Bread
- Savory Chocolate Pasta with Hazelnut Chili Cream Sauce
- Savory Herbed Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
- Vegan Lemon Pasta with Poppy Seeds
- Smoky Vegan Onion Jam
Summer Tomatoes
There are a lot of things about summer that I like, but few that I like as much as summer tomatoes. So ripe, so juicy, ready to burst, you can almost smell the sunshine trapped in their taut skin. They make the grocery store tomatoes seem flavorless and watery, laughable in comparison to fresh, summer tomatoes. Last year I actually purchased 20 pounds of ripe summer tomatoes from a local farmer, and canned it for that fresh tomato flavor year round, and hopefully we’ll get to do that this year too (although we’ll need a lot more- 20 pounds did not last!). We make delicious heirloom tomato salads, simmer simple sauces, and make more elaborate dishes like this cobbler. But one of my favorites dishes is a absolutely perfect tomato sandwich. Fresh bread, thick slices of tomato, a little vegan mayonnaise, and fresh cracked salt and pepper. Nothing more, it is the perfect expression of summer tomatoes. But my ability to buy tomatoes goes far beyond my ability to eat tomato sandwiches, so there’s plenty of juicy tomatoes left for other recipes!
How to Make Heirloom Tomato Cobbler
In essence, this is a casserole or one pan meal. The first step is to salt the tomatoes and eggplant and let it sit, which is an important step to help them loose a little moisture. If you skip this step, you run the risk of making a cobbler where the bottom of your biscuits are soggy. Next whip up that biscuit dough (don’t over-mix!) and throw it in the fridge while you wait. Now it’s time to get out your skillet, and make sure you use one that can safely go in the oven. Sauté your garlic and onions, before adding some flour which will help to thicken your dish later. Layer it all up- put the eggplant on bottom, the onions and such in the middle, and the tomatoes on top, and then finish it all off with 8 round biscuits. After about half an hour in the oven your heirloom tomatoes should be bubbling, the biscuits lightly golden, and your stomach ready for some savory cobbler!
Eggplant and Heirloom Tomato Cobbler (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 2-3 large heirloom tomatoes
- 1 small Chinese eggplant
- 2 ½ cups + 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour, divided
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt, plus more as needed
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ cup vegan butter, chilled
- 1 tbsp. chives, chopped
- Black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup olive or vegetable oil
- 1 small onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/2-1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- Basil, as garnish
Instructions
- Slice the heirloom tomatoes and eggplants into thick slices, place on a cooling rack and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 10 or more minutes, so the vegetables lose some moisture.
- While the vegetables sit, start on your cobbler dough. Combine 2 ½ cups of flour with the baking powder, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and a crack of black pepper. Whisk well, then cut your butter into the flour, using your hands to rub the flour into the butter until it has a wet sand texture (don’t over mix- you still want some larger butter chunks). Add 1/3 cup of water, and use a spoon and then your hands to stir to form a dough. Once the dough is formed add the chives and kneed a few times, so they are incorporated. Place the dough in the fridge until needed.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Chop your onions into half-moons and mince your garlic. Heat your oil in a 10-inch cast iron skillet (or any other similarly sized skillet that is also oven safe). Add the garlic and onions, and sauté until fragrant and the onions have softened. Add the three remaining tablespoons of flour and stir well, cooking for 2-3 minutes without letting it burn. Season with a little salt and pepper, and add your balsamic, taking it off the heat.
- Push the onion mixture to the side a little, and start by making a layer of your eggplant on the bottom of the pan. Let the onions sit on top and around the eggplant. Next make a couple layers of your tomatoes. Finally take the cobbler dough from the fridge and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape them into balls, and flatten them into disks. Place the disks in a layer on top of the tomatoes, and place the skillet in the oven.
- Bake for around 30 minutes, until the biscuits on top have hardened and started to turn golden. Serve garnished with fresh basil, if desired
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