Welcome to Cobbler Week! Unintentionally, you might even say accidentally, after not having made any biscuit-topped dishes for at least a year, I seem to have found myself whipping up two in just a matter of days! It’s a happy thing and I can’t wait to share both with you! First up, is this off-the-beaten-path, savory and oh-so-delicious, Ratatouille Cobbler. I promise you’re going to love it!

Before we get to the making of this yummy dish though, I can’t not acknowledge the Ratatouille movie. Can you believe it came out in 2007?!! Geez, time is flying by! Anyhow, I’m thinking you throw together this cobbler, reacquaint yourself with Remy (that adorable rat) and have yourself a little themed-dinner/movie night. Sounds good, no?

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get back to the real star of the night— the actual ratatouille, which if you’re unfamiliar with, is basically just a simple and very colorful French vegetable stew.

It comes together easily and is very flexible in terms of ingredients. It almost always has an eggplant and tomato base, but then you can let your imagination go wild. It’s also a great way to use up any veggies that have seen better days. Here I’ve used eggplant, carrots, onion, zucchini and tomatoes, but it would be great with peppers, yellow squash, string beans—whatever you like or have on hand.

Anyhoo, once you’ve prepared said ratatouille, it’s on to the cobbler part, which in this case, is an easy buttermilk and parmesan cornmeal biscuit that comes together in one-bowl, gets dropped any which way over the savory stew and bakes up golden brown and addictively crunchy on the exterior while still maintaining that light fluffiness inside, which is the hallmark of any biscuit worth eating.

The combo of those crunchy/tender biscuits with that tangy tomatoe-y stew is just…WOW!!! So much flavor and texture! Though it’s entirely savory, it kind of feels like you’re getting to eat dessert for dinner and what’s more fun than that?!!

Stay tuned for more cobbler…

Ratatouille Cobbler

Makes 6-8 servings

Prep Time: 40 minutes; Bake Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the ratatouille

⅓ cup olive oil, plus a little extra
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 large carrots, peeled and cut into thickish rounds
1 large eggplant, peeled and cubed
3 medium zucchini, cubed
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups cored and diced tomatoes (I used 6 large plum tomatoes)
Kosher salt and black pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
1 generous tablespoon tomato paste
Water

For the biscuit topping

1 ½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

½ cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes and chilled
1 tablespoon solid vegetable shortening (like Crisco—if you don’t have it in the house or don’t want to use, just add an extra tablespoon of butter)
1 cup buttermilk, well-shaken, plus a little extra

The Recipe

1. To make the ratatouille: Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy deep-sided skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened and translucent but not browned. Add in the carrots, eggplant and zucchini and cook for 8-10 minutes, until veggies have softened, stirring often so that they don’t stick. Add in the garlic and cook for a minute, stirring constantly so that the garlic doesn’t burn.

2. Stir in the tomatoes and season with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan and lower the heat to medium-low. Let cook for about 10 minutes, giving a little stir every now and then. Stir in the basil and tomato paste and let the mixture simmer for a few more minutes, uncovered, adding a little bit of water to keep the mixture saucy. You need a bit of liquid so that the biscuits will steam properly. Taste and season the ratatouille with more salt and pepper if needed and remove from the heat.

3. Preheat the oven to 400ºF and brush the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish with a little olive oil. Scrape the mixture into the prepared dish and place in the oven as it preheats.

4. To make the biscuits: Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and parmesan in a large bowl. Add the cubed butter and shortening and use your fingers to work it into the dough for a couple of minutes, then switch to a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized pieces of butter and shortening. You want to try not to over mix.

5. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk. Use a fork to stir it all together until a dough starts to form. Add in more buttermilk, a tablespoonful at a time, if the mixture seems too crumbly.

6. When the ratatouille in the oven is all bubbly, remove it and dollop big spoonfuls of the biscuit mixture all across the top (it’s ok if there are gaps between the dollops). Return the dish to the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, until the biscuits are a deep golden brown and entirely cooked through. Let the casserole cool for a few minutes and serve.

Enjoy!

Note: Recipe adapted from The Harvest Baker by Ken Haedrich. I tinkered a lot with proportions and ingredients. Use whatever veggies you like or need to use up for your ratatouille mixture. Also, I simplified the biscuit topping and used more cornmeal and buttermilk.