Cobblers originated in North America, where British settlers couldn’t get hold of suet, and so invented a biscuity-dumplingy topping. The most likely explanation for the word is that the topping formed a pavement of golden, soft, round hillocks – it looked like a cobbled street. More often than not they are made with fruit, and served as a desert…. but savoury cobblers also work well.
Serve with charcuterie…. Prosciutto, ham, salami… OR white fish… OR chicken.
Preparation for this dish takes about half an hour.
Rather to my surprise I found that it kept OK in the fridge for a couple of days and reheated. It won’t freeze though.
Cheese and tomato savoury cobbler
Serves – 4
Ingredients
- Olive oil for frying – or, if you are using sundried tomatoes in oil, use some of the oil from the jar
- 800g tomatoes
- 4 x sundried tomatoes
- 1 tbsp thick balsamic vinegar, if you can’t find thick balsamic vinegar use pomegranate molasses
- Salt (or a half tsp Gentleman’s Relish) and pepper (ideally Indonesian long), or Urfa pepper flakes, or paprika
- 2 tbsps dried oregano, or fresh basil in season
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 150g mascarpone
For the cobbler:
- 180g/1⅔ cups plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 150g butter
- 100g grated hard cheese – pecorino, Gruyère, cheddar
- 3 eggs
- 4 tbsps milk
For the garnish:
- 30g (2 tbsp) pine nuts
- 1-2 tbsps nigella seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 210°
- Core and roughly chop the tomatoes and begin to fry in the olive or sundried tomato oil.
- Chop the sundried tomatoes, and add.
- Add the oregano and the balsamic vinegar and the seasoning. When cooked through take off the heat.
- Meanwhile, make the topping by mixing all the ingredients listed above in a big mixing bowl, using your hands.
- Add the mascarpone and the mustard to the cooled tomatoes, stir in well. Pour into a shallow casserole or quiche dish – you need quite a bit of surface area for the cobbler.
- With your hands, drop blobs of cobber mix onto the tomato base. Put in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Then lower the temperature to 180° Sprinkle over the nigella seeds and the pine nuts. Cook for another five minutes. If the pine nuts and the ‘cobbles’ are golden, it’s ready to serve. If they aren’t put the dish back for another five minutes.
- Serve.
