Tomato and Goat Cheese Cobbler

TL;DR (Quick-Answer Box)

• What it is: A savory skillet cobbler featuring sweet cherry tomatoes baked under a tender cornmeal biscuit topping and dotted with creamy, tangy goat cheese.
• Why you’ll love it: It’s a stunningly unique appetizer or main, balancing sweet and savory flavors with a wonderfully rich, buttery biscuit crust.
• How to make it: Sauté cherry tomatoes + fresh thyme in a skillet until they burst. Top with homemade biscuit dough, bake, then dot with goat cheese + bake again.

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Baker and author Zoe Nathan says that this cherry tomato and goat cheese cobbler recipe is one of her favorite summer breakfasts. I get that. I do. Tomato, thyme, goat cheese—all warm-weather flavors. And though neither The One nor I are big fans of tomatoes for breakfast, we’ve already found plenty of non-morning ways to serve this spectacular gem of a recipe.

One such occasion was last night, when we whipped this up to usher in our first autumn dinner. (Even though, seasonally speaking, we have seven more days until fall, the weather in Roxbury this weekend had us reaching for sweatshirts and scarves as we sat around the fire pit.) The cobbler was pretty in our fresh-off-the-assembly-line Fiesta bowls in lemongrass, scarlet, lapis, and shamrock. It was the opening act for a superb fennel-crusted roast pork loin with apples and onions.

Featured Review

O.M.Gawd!!!! SO DELICIOUS!!!! i subbed oat flour for whole wheat and added a generous handful of sundried tomatoes to the fresh. served it with grilled chicken.”

Becca

To say our guests, Carlotta and Ed, were speechless is an understatement. And that’s saying a lot about Carlotta, the mockingbird of our circle. The tomatoes were so sweet, it felt as if we were eating a fruit cobbler. (And, yes, I do know that tomatoes are fruits.) Yet it was the savory elements—the goat cheese, thyme, pepper—that made this so extraordinary. There was a bit of umami flavor going on in there. Oh, and there’s the wonder that is Zoe’s biscuit topping. My, oh my, my, my. (I may have snuck a few extra biscuits while I was in the kitchen cleaning up in between courses. And that’s something between me and my Weight Watchers points, thank you very much.)

Suffice it to say, The One and I will continue making this cobbler far into autumn and even winter, so long as good produce can be found. Yes, I will burn in hell for causing a bigger carbon footprint than necessary by eating tomatoes harvested in Chile or Peru, but if this recipe is on our menu, I’m willing to take the chance. When it comes to this cobbler, this guy’s soul is for sale.

Chow,

More Outrageously Good Tomato Recipes

Homemade Tomato Paste

6 hrs

Freezer Tomato Sauce

1 hr 30 mins

Spaghetti with Raw Tomatoes

50 mins

Fresh Tomato Tart

2 hrs 15 mins

For a deeper dive into what you can do with tomatoes, you can learn how to make a rich, concentrated tomato paste at home, or whip up a simple freezer tomato sauce to preserve summer’s bounty. For a quick weeknight dinner, nothing beats a no-cook tomato sauce for a quick weeknight spaghetti, while an elegant fresh tomato tart with a flaky crust is perfect for guests. You can also try Ina Garten’s Easy Tomato Soup or create a sweet and savory tomato jam for your next cheese board.

Featured Review

This was delicious. I made some changes based on what I had on hand…did a combo of chopped plum tomatoes and red pepper…didn’t have goat cheese so did a mix of parmesan, Roquefort and feta. Basil was subbed for thyme. It was perfect. The biscuit topping was super soft and crunchy.

Jacqui

Tomato and Goat Cheese Cobbler

4.89 / 9 votes

This tomato and goat cheese cobbler recipe is made with cherry tomatoes, biscuits, and goat cheese. A lovely summer appetizer.

David Leite

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CourseMains

CuisineAmerican

Servings4 servings

Calories576 kcal

Prep Time20 minutes minutes

Cook Time2 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Total Time3 hours hours

Ingredients 

USMetric

For the biscuit topping

• ▢ 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ▢ 3 1/2 tablespoons cornmeal
• ▢ 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cubed
• ▢ 3 1/2 tablespoons cold buttermilk

For the tomato filling

• ▢ 2 pounds red and yellow cherry tomatoes
• ▢ 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ▢ leaves from 8 to 10 thyme sprigs
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• ▢ healthy pinch of freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• ▢ 1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• ▢ 6 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled

Instructions 

Make the biscuit topping

• Whisk together the 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 3 1/2 tablespoons cornmeal, 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder, 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt in a large bowl.
• Dump in the 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter cubes. Using a pastry blender, work the butter until you have pea- to lima bean-size pieces. (If you have particularly cold hands, you can use your fingertips.) Drizzle in the 3 1/2 tablespoons cold buttermilk and toss the mixture with a fork until it’s evenly moistened.
• Plop the dough on a clean work surface. Press and squeeze the dough until it begins to hold together. (If you tossed it well with the fork, this should be a cinch. If you see dry spots, it’s best to use the fork to mix the dough instead of your hands. Whatever you do, don’t overwork the dough.) When all is said and done, you should still see pea-size bits of butter running through the dough.
• Shape the dough into a disc about 3/4 inch (2 centimeters) thick. Using a 1 1/2-inch (4-cm) biscuit cutter, cut out 9 biscuits. Gently gather the dough scraps together, press them into a slab again, and cut out more biscuits. (I was able to get 15 biscuits.)
• Transfer the biscuits to a baking sheet and slide them in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours.

  ☞ TESTER TIP: You can stash the biscuits in a resealable plastic bag and freeze them for up to 3 months to simplify throwing the cobbler together at the last minute easy. You'll want to allow them a little extra time to thaw a little after taking them out of the freezer and before baking them.

Make the tomato filling

• Crank your oven to 350°F (180°C).
• Toss the 2 pounds red and yellow cherry tomatoes, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, half the leaves from 8 to 10 thyme sprigs, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, and healthy pinch of freshly ground black pepper in an ovenproof skillet. (I used a 12-inch cast-iron skillet and it worked marvelously.)
  
• Cover the skillet and cook on the stovetop over medium-high heat until the tomatoes begin to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Uncover the skillet and continue cooking until all the tomatoes have burst slightly and released their juices.
• Remove the biscuits from the freezer and generously brush the tops with the egg wash. Place them on top of the tomato mixture in the skillet, spacing them 1 inch (2 1/2 centimeters) apart.
  
• Bake the cobbler for 25 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven and dot the 6 ounces soft goat cheese between the biscuits, covering any exposed tomato mixture. Return the whole shebang to the oven, bump up the heat to 450°F (232°C) and continue baking until the top is nicely browned, about 10 minutes more.
  
• Scatter the remaining thyme over the top and serve the cobbler warm or at room temperature, scooping the cobbler straight from the skillet at the table. The cobbler is best eaten the day it’s made.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1 portionCalories: 576 kcalCarbohydrates: 37 gProtein: 16 gFat: 42 gSaturated Fat: 23 gMonounsaturated Fat: 14 gTrans Fat: 1 gCholesterol: 129 mgSodium: 1409 mgFiber: 3 gSugar: 6 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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