Tomato & Zucchini Cobbler with Gruyere and Thyme Biscuits

We’re making savory cobbler! Why let fruit have all the fun? This one’s quick, easy and full of flavor. The best kinds of cobbler are.
We start with the filling: sliced zucchini, yellow summer squash and halved cherry tomatoes are combined with fresh thyme, salt, pepper and olive oil for lusciousness. A little bit of flour in the filling means the at-their-prime, liquid filled vegetables won’t bubble over and make a saucy mess in your oven. Don’t get lost in the sauce. You know what I’m saying.
‘Once the vegetables are done, on to the biscuits! I messed around with these until I had them down; in their previous iteration, they were made with mostly rye flour and the cheese was cubed. The rye yielded biscuits that didn’t puff up to their full potential and the cubed cheese was nice when it melted, but not so when it hardened. I fixed these by reducing the rye and switching the remaining amount to whole wheat, using two leaveners instead of one so they’d react better with the buttermilk, micro-plane grating the cheese so it’d be evenly dispersed (every bite is a cheese bite! and if that doesn’t sound like heaven, then, well, bye) and giving the biscuit dough puff-pastry like folds. They came out gorgeously tall, layered and burnished and they are my ideal cheese biscuits. Perfect for topping savory cobbler with! Also perfect for baking on their own, splitting, and filling with eggs and other delightful things. Your call.
This cobbler is juicy, savory and full of the flavors of August. It begs to be eaten hot from the oven or cold from the fridge or just eaten in general and it makes an extra epic lunch when had with plain yogurt or labneh, maybe some pesto too. (And if you’re serving it with pesto, get lost in the sauce. You know what I’m saying.)
Have a great weekend!
Chaya

Yields: one 9″ cobbler

Why I love this recipe: using buttermilk, two leaveners and folding the biscuit dough yields biscuits that are incredibly tall, layered and fluffy. Two cheeses, gruyere and parmesan, are grated finely and interspersed throughout the dough, so there are small pieces of salty, gooey cheese everywhere, and fresh thyme adds savory flavor that highlights the juicy baked tomatoes and zucchini. A little flour in the filling helps reduce runniness and sel gris on the biscuits adds texture for a finishing touch.

For the biscuits: 

• 1 1/2 cups white flour
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 stick cold butter, cubed
• 4 oz. Gruyere cheese, microplane grated
• 3 oz. Parmesan cheese, microplane grated
• 1 cup cold buttermilk
• egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon of water, for egg wash
• sel gris, for topping

For the filling: 

• 2 small yellow summer squash, thinly sliced
• 1 large green zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 shallot, sliced into thin rings
• 2 cups heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons good quality olive oil
• 3 tablespoons flour

1. Combine all the vegetables in a bowl and toss to combine with the thyme, parsley, salt, pepper, olive oil and flour. Transfer to the pie/cobbler dish.
2. Make the biscuits: mix the dry ingredients and the herbs together. Using your fingertips, work the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture is crumbly with small, pea sized pieces of butter.
3. Add the grated cheese to the butter/flour mixture and toss to combine. Add the buttermilk and stir until combined. It will be a little wet and a little shaggy, but mostly smooth.
4. Use your hands to knead it together a few times in the bowl; turn the dough out onto a floured counter and roll it out to a 2 inch thickness. Fold it in half so that the long side faces you and then turn it so that the short side faces you. Roll it out. Repeat the process two more times, three in total.
5. Use a floured cutter to stamp out biscuits. Gather the scraps and re-roll them as needed, but only once. Transfer the biscuits to a baking sheet and refrigerate them for 15 minutes.
6. Remove the biscuits from the fridge. Preheat oven to 375°
7. Top the vegetable mixture with the biscuits. Brush the biscuits with a light layer of egg wash, sprinkle with sel gris, and bake until the biscuits are puffed, deep golden-brown and the vegetables are bubbling round the edges, 30-35 minutes.
8. (Cover the top of the cobbler with silver foil if it seems like the biscuits are starting to get too dark but the vegetables need more time. Remove when done.) Serve immediately.