I was at the library looking at cookbooks with a friend and I thought of Laurel’s Kitchen which I don’t (well, didn’t) own, but had flipped through a few times. I remembered it to be not just vegetarian but with an emphasis on whole foods, and a distinctly hippie flavor. I tend to like my food a bit lighter and less sweet than your typical 70s hippie cookbook, but I’m interested in checking out as many takes on whole foods as possible, so we loaned the book out of the library and I made this dish for dinner.

Turns out, it was exactly what we were both craving. It’s getting to be fall so we wanted something warm and tasty but not too heavy. The brown-bread topping is soft and chewy and soaks up the moisture from the vegetables. I’ve been really into leeks lately because they’re slightly sour (the fall flavor) and carrots and parsnips because they have such a beautiful bouquet. Root vegetables are good for fall; they deepen and concentrate energy downward in the body, preparing for winter and providing the focus that characterizes many people’s autumn habits. In the summer, you might want to try corn and green beans, in the spring, peas and artichokes.

There’s a bunch of tricks with this dish. The first is that your cobbler is scented and flavored with the vegetable stock you use. So do yourself a favor and make a nice aromatic broth. I also recommend adding 1/2c cooked beans, pureed, to the vegetables and broth that make the bottom part. Not only does it make a more complete protein, but it binds the vegetables in a sauce. Finally, there is virtually no fat in this recipe, but if you want to do it up a little fancier, sauté the vegetables in butter before adding them to the pan, and make the batter with some melted butter and oat flour instead of corn.

One final note: Baking powder is not a whole food, it’s a chemical (well, a couple of them). Next time I make this, I’m going to try replacing the leavening with 1/4 cup of sourdough starter, and raising the batter for a little while before baking it. You could also separate the eggs, beat the whites to soft peaks, and fold them in right before spreading the batter.

Vegetable Cobbler

from Laurel’s Kitchen by Robertson, Flinders, & Godfrey, p. 251

4 cups cooked vegetables or very thick soup (LL note: I used 3 parsnips, 3 leeks, 1 turnip, 3 ribs of kale, and 1 big carrot)
1 1/2 cups stock
Herbs and seasonings to taste (LL note: I used 1/2 teaspoon of salt, quite a bit of black pepper, and about 2T minced parsley)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup cornmeal (try swapping out other flours)
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk or broth

Preheat oven to 425.
Heat vegetables in stock, and pour them into a greased 9”x13” baking dish.
Stir dry ingredients together. Add eggs and milk (or broth) and mix just until ingredients are well distributed. (LL note: add the eggs first and only enough broth to make it the consistency of muffin batter.)
Spread batter over top of vegetables. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese if desired.

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