Spicy Mexican Cornbread Cobbler
Cobbler in the US seem to usually be made into sweet desserts. The savoury cobblers in the UK are generally filled with meat. No fruit or meat in this one though! I’ve crafted a savoury, vegan cornbread cobbler for a homely, hearty family dinner that is filled with juicy tomatoes, chili, black beans and topped with corn biscuits. For me, this is a big casserole dish of comfort food with chilies to warm you inside.
These type of dishes are not my speciality. I’m usually one for sweet treats (as you can see from The Hungry Herbivores recipe index), however that doesn’t mean I don’t love knocking up a delicious savoury dinner; I do it most days in fact… I just don’t show you.
Although making your own cobbler biscuits for the top of this casserole dish might sound a little too much work for a casual weekday dinner, it really is super simple! There really is no need to spend over 20 minutes on preparing this dish before popping it in the oven and walking away to let the scones rise and crisp. Let’s talk about these cornbread biscuits then. They’re made very simply in a food processor, scooped on top of the juicy beans and baked. After 35 minutes of rising, the biscuits turn crisp on the outside and super fluffy on the inside, a great way of soaking up all the juicy goodness underneath. Although these are low in gluten because of the cornmeal content, the biscuits still definitely contain wheat. If you are gluten-free, please do try out using gf flour and let us know how it goes. Following the same method as the recipe below should land you with similar results!
No much of a black bean fan? or chili? This recipe can be altered to taste. Try swapping out the black beans to kidney beans or chili for peppers. My recipes are all about being flexible. Everyone has different taste buds, so don’t let an ingredient put you off. Always experiment with your food, what’s the worst that could happen?
- 1 cup plain flour
- ¾ cup fine cornmeal
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp chili flakes
- ½ cup vegan margarine/butter, cold
- ¾ cup non-dairy milk
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 3 yellow onions, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 large red chili, finely chopped
- 1½ cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 (400g) can chopped tomatoes
- 1 (400g) can black beans, drained
- 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp. coconut sugar/brown sugar
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- Preheat your oven to 350F/170C/Gas mark 4 and prepare a large casserole dish.
- Start by heating olive oil in a large saucepan (med/high) and then adding the chopped onions. Let cook until translucent.
- Add cocoa powder, sugar, cayenne pepper, salt, garlic and chili and continue to cook for another minute, stirring frequently. Add more oil here if anything begins to stick.
- Now stir in the cherry tomatoes, black beans, chopped tomatoes and apple cider vinegar. Take off the heat.
- Pour into the casserole dish and prepare your cornmeal biscuits.
- Place the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and chili flakes in a food processor and pulse to mix fully.
- Next spoon the margarine into the processor bit by bit, again pulse to a crumbly texture.
- Pour in the non dairy milk until just fully incorporated. Don't over mix. It will be a very wet dough. With an ice cream scoop, (or a dessert spoon) place the scoops on top of the black bean filling, leaving half an inch gap between the dough balls.
- Transfer to the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes. The biscuits should be slightly browned.
I like to make cornbread savoury, don’t like when it’s too sweet. You can then accompany it with chilli con carne. I buy my Mexican beans in bulk online