Monday, September 8, 2008

Zucchini, Ricotta, and Sun-Dried Tomato Cheesecake


I served this savory cheesecake with a dinner of salmon and artichokes. It was a great addition to the meal. It looks neat, baked in a springform pan to resemble its sweeter cheesecake counterpart, and it's full of colorful vegetables and herbs. I found the recipe on a great food blog, 101 Cookbooks, but had to modify it slightly to work with ingredients I had on hand. For the sun-dried tomatoes, which I added to the recipe, I only had the really dried kind that needed replumping. To do that, I just poured very hot water over the tomatoes, and left them to "grow" for about 10 minutes.

Zucchini, Ricotta, and Sun-Dried Tomato Cheesecake
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks
Serves 8

2 cups zucchini, unpeeled & grated
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon dried dill
zest of one lemon
3 large eggs, well beaten
1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan.

In a strainer, toss the shredded zucchini with the salt and let sit for ten minutes. Then aggressively squeeze and press out as much moisture as you can. Set aside.

In the meantime, combine the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, green onions, garlic, dill and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Stir in the eggs and continue mixing until well combined. Now stir in the shredded zucchini. Fill the springform pan with the ricotta mixture and place on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake for 60 minutes. Now sprinkle with the goat cheese and return to the oven for another 20 - 30 minutes or until the goat cheese is melted and the cake barely jiggles in the center (it will set up more as it cools). Place in the broiler for 2 minutes or until a golden color.

Remove from the oven and let cool five minutes, then release the cake from its pan. Cool completely; serve at room temperature.


Step-by-Step in Pictures

Drain the zucchini of water...

Reconstitute the sun-dried tomatoes by placing them in boiling water...

Combine all the ingredients...


Here's what your final mixture looks like...

Spread the mixture into a springform pan...

Bake...

Sprinkle goat cheese on top and place back in the oven. Then broil for the last few minutes.
Remove the sides of the springform pan...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That looks so wonderful! I wish I was eating it right now!

Marni said...

joyce - it was delish!

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