This is the other dish I made for Easter. I took this one to brunch with my family the day before. Like the roasted tomatoes I brought to Andy’s family’s brunch, I also tried this one out earlier in the week – as I’d had the recipe for quite some time but never made it before. I can’t lie: I have mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, it looks SO pretty and delicious, smells wonderful and everyone loved it. Everyone, that is, except me.

I think we’ve determined that my distaste for this is really just a distaste for cornbread in general, which I guess I’d never really had before (I know, right?!). Initially, I thought I’d just screwed up the recipe the first time around, but nope. Tasted the same on Easter.

My husband and my family insist that it really is as good as it looks (though this picture doesn’t do it justice), so I decided to go ahead and post this despite my personal opinion. If you decide to try this out (and why wouldn’t you with such a ringing endorsement?), please let me know what you think. I’d love to have an unbiased second opinion!

Vegan Tomato Cobbler With Cornmeal-Cheddar Biscuits
Recipe Inspired by FitnessMagazine.com

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup fine cornmeal
1 tbs sugar
1 1/2 tbs baking powder
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3/4 tsp salt
5 tbs Earth Balance, cut into 1/2 in. cubes
1/3 cup soy milk, plus 1 tbs, as needed
1/2 cup Daiya shredded cheddar cheese
4 tbs sugar
1 tsp sherry vinegar
3 lbs. heirloom (or regular) tomatoes, diced large and seeded*
2 tbs chopped fresh thyme

*To seed tomatoes, cut in half from side to side, not top to bottom. I find it is easiest to scoop out the seeds using your finger. You can also use a spoon or small tool, if you prefer.

Directions

• In a food processor, pulse together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, 3/4 tsp of black pepper and 1/2 tsp of salt. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture forms coarse crumbs
• Pour in the milk a little at a time and pulse just until dough comes together (if you need to add additional milk to form the dough, add it in 1 tbs increments). Pulse in 1/4 cup of the cheddar
• Place dough on floured surface and form into a 1/2 in. thick circle. (I found this wasn’t necessary, as the dough had already formed into a ball in the food processor, but if you need to work with it, use only enough flour to keep it from sticking to your surface) Wrap the disk tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate
• Preheat oven to 375°. Combine the sugar and 2 tbs of water in a skillet over medium heat, swirling gently (do not stir), 3 to 5 minutes or until sugar melts and turns amber. Add the vinegar and swirl
• Add the tomatoes, thyme and remaining salt and pepper to the pan; toss gently to coat tomatoes with the caramel mixture. Cook until juices have thickened slightly, about 5 min. Remove from heat
• Transfer tomato mixture to a pie pan. Cut biscuit dough into 8 equal-size wedges and arrange in a circle on top of the tomato mixture. Sprinkle biscuits with remaining cheddar
• Bake until the biscuits are golden, about 40 min.

Yield: Serves 6-8