Tomato cobbler

Ingredients

For the filling:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions (approx 300g), sliced

250g white beans

1kg tomatoes (any size/shape but large ones will need to be chopped)

salt & pepper

1tsp red pepper flakes

3 tbsp (65g) plain flour

For the topping:

260g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

80g hard cheese, grated

115g butter

200ml milk

Directions

1. First you'll need to caramelise the onions: heat the oil and then add the onions. Cook for approx 20 mins, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and beginning to brown. Remove from heat & set aside.
2. In a large (2.5l) casserole dish combine the tomatoes, caramelised onions, beans, seasoning, red pepper flakes and flour.
3. Pre-heat the oven to gas 5/375F
4. In another dish make the topping: mix together the flour and baking powder, then add the butter in chunks. Rub the butter in until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs and then stir in the grated cheese. Finally stir in the milk until you have quite a wet/sticky mixture.
5. Assemble your dish by putting tablespoons of the topping on top of the tomato mixture around the outside of the dish. Leave a gap in the middle for the tomatoes.
6. Bake uncovered for 1hr 10 mins. Stand for about 10 mins after cooking, and then serve with some green veg.

Recipe notes:

• Don't use a deep casserole dish; it's better to use one about 2 inches deep with a wide surface area.
• In terms of the cheese, use something that you like the flavour of. The original recipe had Gruyère but as I had lots of Wensleydale that's what I used. I think a less dry, more flavoursome cheese would work better though.

This recipe tastes even better made with vegetables from Community Harvest Whetstone :)