Weekly Cheesecake
Jul. 10th, 2014 10:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madbakerThis week's Resolution Recipe is vegetarian: Herb & Ricotta Cheesecake with Roasted Tomato Pesto.
3 1/3 cups ricotta
3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan
3 extra-large eggses, separated (They still love each other. They just need to spend some time apart.)
1 handful basil, torn
1 handful oregano, chopped
2 Tbsp snipped chives (I used green onion)
salt & pepper
Roasted Tomato Pesto:
6 large tomatoes, quartered and seeded
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
1 garlic clove (Ha! I used... more.)
4 Tbsp blanched almonds, toasted and roughly chopped (I used 1/4 cup instead.)
pepper
Heat the oven to 350 and lightly grease a deep 8" loose-bottomed cake pan. Put the ricotta, Parmesan, and egg yolks in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a large mixing bowl (not that one, the larger one!) and stir in the herbs. Season with salt and pepper.
Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl to stiff peaks. Gently fold the whites into the ricotta mixture until combined. (Attempt to keep the light fluffiness while combining. Fail.) Bake for an hour, until risen, set, and light golden.
30 minutes into the baking, put the quartered tomatoes in a roasting pan with 2 Tbsp olive oil and season to taste, then turn the tomatoes in the oil. Put them in the oven with the cheesecake and roast for 30 minutes, until soft and slightly wrinkly.
Remove the tomatoes and cheesecake from the oven and leave the cheesecake to cool slightly. Put the roasted tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, 2 Tbsp nuts, and 2 Tbsp oil in the food processor and process to a coarse paste. Season with salt & pepper and add a splash more oil if it seems too dry. (Ha!)
Run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake and remove from the pan. Scatter a few torn basil leaves and the remaining 2 Tbsp chopped nuts over the top, then serve cut into wedges, with the tomato pesto and a side salad.
What worked: Despite the lengthy instructions, this was pretty easy. It was reasonably good and reminded both of us of the chard-apple frittata that's a regular in our rotation. The tomato pesto is really good; I'm looking forward to using the leftovers in an omelet.
What didn't: The tomato pesto was really, really runny. Even adding another 2 Tbsp nuts didn't help. Maybe I should have used San Marzanos?
I never really learned how to properly fold in egg whites as a leavening. I continue to not know how to do it.
Will I make it again? Probably not. I'll just make a chard-apple frittata. I suppose I might try some variation of the tomato pesto again.
3 1/3 cups ricotta
3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan
3 extra-large eggses, separated (They still love each other. They just need to spend some time apart.)
1 handful basil, torn
1 handful oregano, chopped
2 Tbsp snipped chives (I used green onion)
salt & pepper
Roasted Tomato Pesto:
6 large tomatoes, quartered and seeded
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
1 garlic clove (Ha! I used... more.)
4 Tbsp blanched almonds, toasted and roughly chopped (I used 1/4 cup instead.)
pepper
Heat the oven to 350 and lightly grease a deep 8" loose-bottomed cake pan. Put the ricotta, Parmesan, and egg yolks in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a large mixing bowl (not that one, the larger one!) and stir in the herbs. Season with salt and pepper.
Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl to stiff peaks. Gently fold the whites into the ricotta mixture until combined. (Attempt to keep the light fluffiness while combining. Fail.) Bake for an hour, until risen, set, and light golden.
30 minutes into the baking, put the quartered tomatoes in a roasting pan with 2 Tbsp olive oil and season to taste, then turn the tomatoes in the oil. Put them in the oven with the cheesecake and roast for 30 minutes, until soft and slightly wrinkly.
Remove the tomatoes and cheesecake from the oven and leave the cheesecake to cool slightly. Put the roasted tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, 2 Tbsp nuts, and 2 Tbsp oil in the food processor and process to a coarse paste. Season with salt & pepper and add a splash more oil if it seems too dry. (Ha!)
Run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake and remove from the pan. Scatter a few torn basil leaves and the remaining 2 Tbsp chopped nuts over the top, then serve cut into wedges, with the tomato pesto and a side salad.
What worked: Despite the lengthy instructions, this was pretty easy. It was reasonably good and reminded both of us of the chard-apple frittata that's a regular in our rotation. The tomato pesto is really good; I'm looking forward to using the leftovers in an omelet.
What didn't: The tomato pesto was really, really runny. Even adding another 2 Tbsp nuts didn't help. Maybe I should have used San Marzanos?
I never really learned how to properly fold in egg whites as a leavening. I continue to not know how to do it.
Will I make it again? Probably not. I'll just make a chard-apple frittata. I suppose I might try some variation of the tomato pesto again.
