Tomato Cobbler
with Fresh Basil and Chives

Ingredients

For the Biscuits:
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 3/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 4 1/2 tbsp. cold unsalted butter
• 4 1/2 tbsp. cold vegetable shortening
• 3/4 cups blue cheese crumbles
• 11/4 cups cold buttermilk (plus a little bit more for brushing the biscuit tops)
• salt and black pepper for sprinkling on top
For the Filling:
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 3 red onions, sliced
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp.. kosher salt
• 3 lbs. cherry tomatoes (the more colors, the better!)
• 5 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup basil, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh chives, chopped
• 1 tsp. cracked black pepper

Instructions

Preparing the Biscuits:
1. Whisk together 3 cups of four, the baking powder, sugar, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. black pepper in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
2. Dice the cold butter and shortening into small chunks, and use your fingers to work them into the flour mixture. Eventually the flour-and-shortening mixture should feel like slightly clumpy and moist sand.
3. Mix in the blue cheese crumbles. Go ahead and keep using your hands.
4. Pour in the buttermilk and stir mixture with a wooden spoon until it starts to come together into a dough ball.
5. Spill the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead it about 15 times or until it comes together in a stable ball.
6. With a floured rolling pin, roll dough out to 1/2 inch thickness. Use a 2-inch diameter biscuit cutter or juice glass (Y'know, whatever you can find!) to cut the dough into biscuits. Place biscuits on wax paper and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to add them to the top of the cobbler.
Preparing the Filling:
7. Add olive oil and butter to a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
8. Add sliced onions and cook for about a half hour until they are soft and golden-brown.
9. Add minced garlic and cook for one minute.
10. Add balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes, and salt.
11. In a large bowl, toss tomatoes with onion mixture and 5 tbsp all-purpose flour. Add basi, chives, and black pepper.
Bake the Cobbler:
12. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
13. Pour the tomato filling into a 13 x 9 inch casserole dish.
14. Bake the tomato filling for 25 minutes.
15. After the filling has been in the oven for 25 minutes, pull it out and lay the biscuits in rows over its top. (Save unused biscuits in a ziplock bag in the freezer. Word has it, they still bake up beautifully.)
16. Brush biscuit tops with buttermilk. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then, pop the casserole back into the oven for another 17-20 minutes or until the biscuits are golden-brown.
17. Let cool slightly and serve warm garnished with more fresh chives and basil.