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Basil Cheesecake
This is a savory cheesecake appropriate
as an appetizer or a nice brunch presentation. The recipe is by Elizabeth Shcneider's From
the Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Farm Fresh Seasonal Produce
Serves: 10 |
I N G R E D I E N T S
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup basil leaves de-stemmed
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 pounds cream cheese at room temp
2 Tbs. butter, softened
1 cup crushed graham crackers or vanilla wafers. I N S T R U C T I O N S
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
In food processor or with mixer, lightly beat eggs. Add sour cream, sugar, basil,
cornstarch, lemon juice, and vanilla. Process until smooth. Add cream cheese, 1/2 pound at
a time until blended.
Spread softened butter on bottom and halfway up sides of a 9 or 10 in. spring form pan.
Cover buttered area with cookie crumbs, pressing to be sure they stick.
Pour in cheesecake batter and bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the
center comes out clean. Run a knife around edges of cake as soon as it comes out of the
oven.
Cool on wire rack 5 min. then remove the side of the pan. Finish cooling. Cut with dental
floss into thin wedges. Serves 10.
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More Basil Cheesecake - An alternative
recipe for Basil cheesecake uses fresh basil, ricotta and Parmesan cheeses,
pine nuts, butter
Elizabeth
Schneider's Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables set a standard for exact yet lively
investigation. Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini follows in her earlier book's
footsteps to create a compelling guide to 350 common and exotic vegetables. This
seed-to-table exploration does more, however. In addition to its usefulness as a reference
work (vegetables are, for example, listed by their market, botanical, and common names),
the book offers 500 up-to-the-minute recipes--such as Shredded Yellow Squash with Garlic
Chives and Baked Sweet Potato-Apple Puree with Horseradish--valuable advice on seasonality
and selection, multiple-method cooking instructions, and color photos of all the entries
that make market identification a breeze. Interested in amaranth? Find its entry and
discover, first, the magenta-veined plant's common aliases (among them, the Caribbean
callaloo, the Indian bhaji, and the Korean namul); an engaging vegetable biography that
distills information from many fields (for example, the Greeks thought amaranth immortal);
information on selection, storage, and preparation (use the vegetable's tiniest leaves for
salads; steam, braise, or sauté the larger "with garlic, shallots, tomato dice, and
a touch of chilies"); and full-dress recipes (such as Garlicky Sauté of Amaranth and
Tomatoes, Cuban Style). A final section, called Pros Propose, offers recipe sketches from
cooking experts, like Paula Wolfert's Amaranth and Sheep's Milk Cheese. This lucid
organizational scheme, common to all the entries, and Schneider's expert handling of it,
promote a full yet relaxed familiarization with the selected vegetables. This is one of
those few books that most cooks will want, as well as need, to own. --Arthur Boehm
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