Savory Mushroom “Cobbler”

Calling all meat n’ potato lovers out there!

I’m not a big fan of beef, or red meat of any sort, but I saw a recipe similar to this one last fall while watching The Chew, aka my all-time favorite show (perfect for watching on the iPad while on the treadmill! I swear everyone at the gym thinks I’m a 40 year old housewife with way too much time…). On the show, Chef Curtis Stone shared his recipe for a Steak & Mushroom Cobbler, which appealed to even to my quasi-vegetarian tastebuds. I figured it was something I had to try, maybe doctor up a bit so I wasn’t just purely copying. I love the idea of a “cobbler” made out of all the ingredients you would find in a stew. Basically, I guess anything baked with little mounds of crust on top could be considered a “cobbler,” but for some reason we always think of cobbler as something you have after Thanksgiving dinner that is filled with apples, cherries, and/or other sweet things.

When I decided to use pot roast meat in this recipe instead of steak, it all of a sudden reminded me exactly of the Beef Stew my mom always made in the Crock Pot growing up. And then things took off from there. I decided to add potatoes for a bit more heartiness and sauce-soaking potential (sweet, of course- why wouldn’t you use sweet potatoes when given the option?), peas and rosemary for some much-needed color (you know I can’t completely ignore my veggie-loving tendencies), and substituted the Elvis biscuits with the baking powder ones my mom would always serve with our stew. I also added a little cheddar cheese. It just seemed to fit.

I also found I needed to add a little more thickener- just a touch of corn starch- to the original recipe (perhaps because I used more beef broth, since the carton I had was 8 oz. larger than the 24 oz. portion Stone recommends). The result was a light gravy-like sauce that provided the perfect thickness to nestle in between the veggies and stew meat. The biscuits on top were nice and toasty around the edges, but still soft and doughy on the inside- perfect for soaking up the gravy. I definitely recommend adding some type of fresh herb as well. If not rosemary (which provided just the right degree of woody fragrance to complement the savory), then perhaps try sage or thyme.

Let’s just say my husband was a happy camper.

Savory Mushroom Cobbler

Recipe Type: Stews, Casseroles

Cuisine: Comfort Food

Author: Claire McCormick of “Claire Tastes”

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 8-12

It’s like having beef stew, pot pie, and cobbler all at the same time! You won’t want to miss out on this one. I think I actually saw my husband licking his bowl out of the corner of my eye. Cut the biscuits up into fun shapes with cookie cutters to give the dish a fun and elegant twist!

Ingredients

2 lbs pot roast meat, cut up into small cubes
salt and pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
2 small yellow onions, chopped
1 10 oz package sliced white mushrooms
2 tsp minced garlic
1 package onion soup mix
1 medium sweet potato, chopped into small cubes
4 large carrots, chopped horizontally into ~1/2″ “buttons”
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 32 oz. carton beef broth
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3/4 cup frozen peas
1 sprig fresh rosemary, finely minced
1 tbsp corn starch
4 slices sharp cheddar cheese
FOR THE BISCUITS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried rosemary

Instructions

Chop pot roast into small chunks, if not already done. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large skillet on high heat.
Add pot roast and cook until brown, about 5 minutes, turning occasionally.
Remove pot roast and juices from skillet and set aside in a medium bowl.
In skillet, heat another 1 tbsp of oil. Add onion, sweet potatoes, garlic, and onion soup mix. Cook until onions are soft, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes.
Remove from skillet and add to the same bowl as the pot roast.
Add the remaining 2 tbsp oil to skillet. Add mushrooms and carrots and cook until carrots are soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in 2 tbsp flour and stir well until combined.
Return the beef, potato, and onion mixture to the skillet with the carrots and mushrooms. Add beef broth, wine, mustard, thyme, and peas. Sprinkle fresh rosemary on top. Season with salt and pepper. Stir well.
Bring stew to a boil and reduce to medium heat to maintain a steady simmer. Simmer about 15 minutes until the broth has reduced a bit.
Add corn starch and stir. The stew should have thickened by now such that it has a thin gravy-like sauce.
Pour stew into a lightly sprayed 9×12 casserole dish. Sprinkle with additional dry rosemary.
Using the same cookie cutter you used for the biscuits (recipe below), cut the cheddar slices into shapes (or just tear into strips- but this is way less fancy!)
Layer cheese on top of the stew in the casserole dish. Add the cut biscuits so that they are slightly overlapping the cheese.
Lightly drizzle biscuits with olive oil.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until biscuits are a deep golden-brown in color and stew is bubbling.
Remove from oven and cool for at least 5 minutes. Serve with biscuits on top!
FOR THE BISCUITS
In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder.
Cut shortening into flour mixture, using two knives and running them across one another until the mixture forms fine crumbs.
Add garlic powder and dried rosemary.
Add milk and stir until the dough just comes away from the side of the bowl. The dough will be sticky!
Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead about 15 times.
Flatten or roll to about a 1/2″ thickness. Use cookie cutters (any shape you like!) or an inverted wine glass to cut biscuits.
(At this point, add this dough to the top of the stew to act as the “cobbler”- as described above. Alternatively, you could bake them separately by placing them on a nonstick cookie sheet at 450 degrees for 12 minutes.)