Recipe: Savoury cheesecake

Cheese cake, sneakin’ out the back door

Goats’ Curd and Herb Savoury Cheesecake with Tomato Jam and Pesto Oil

I have a friend who does not like cheese*. I think he is weird, because what’s not to like? I tell him so with regularity, which he takes in good humour! For reasons not worth detailing here, we happened to have far too much parmesan cheese and were looking for an excuse to use a batch in one go. We were also entertaining that week and figured that a savoury cheese cake would be an excellent choice for a starter which could be made in advance, but still taste delicious on the day.

This dish is quite a cheese fest, with light goat’s curd mixed with thyme and a buttery melt-in-the-mouth parmesan short-bread biscuit base. Accompanying the cheese cake is a zingy, sweet tomato jam and pesto oil. You can substitute with fruity chutneys too.

Your cheese lover friends will hopefully enjoy this every bit as we did. Plus, you may get lucky and have a slice or two left over for brunch the next day. Enjoy with a Muscat or fruity light red wine. Alternatively, serve in lieu of a cheese course with a fruity tawny port.

* Except for mozzarella as “it doesn’t taste of anything”.

Prep time: 45 min

Cook time: 1 hour 30 min

Total time: 2 hours 15 min

Yield: One 20cm (8”) cake (8 servings)

Parmesan Crust Ingredients

• Flour: 125 grams
• Butter: 85 grams
• Parmesan cheese: 100 grams, freshly grated
• Cayenne pepper: 1/2 tsp

Filling Ingredients

• Goat milk curds (or ricotta if not available): 300 grams
• Cream cheese: 250 grams
• Eggs: 4 medium sized plus 1 egg white
• Regular cream cheese: 250 grams
• Salt: pinch
• Freshly chopped chives: 1 tablespoon
• Fresh thyme leaves, chopped: 1 tablespoon

Tomato Jam Ingredients

• Coarsley chopped tomatoes: 250 grams
• Shallot: 1 medium
• Soft brown sugar: 40 grams
• Salt: 1 teaspoon
• Ground coriander: 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin: 1/4 teaspoon
• Cider vinegar: 40ml

Pesto Oil Ingredients

• Fresh basil leaves: 150 grams
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese: 30 grams
• Toasted pine nuts: 20 grams
• Extra virgin olive oile: 50ml

Method:

To make the parmesan shortbread

1. Mix the butter and flour together until you get a breadcrumb like texture. Use the paddle attachment if using an electric mixer.
2. Add the parmesan and cayenne pepper and mix until even. Try not to over mix.
3. Form the mixtre into a ball of dough and cover in cling film and refrigerate for an hour to allow the gluten in the flour to settle.
4. Remove the cling film and roll out on a floured surface to a thickness of about 3/4 of a centimeter.
5. Use a knife or a cutter to cut “cookies” from the dough into 5cm sections (they don't have to look perfect because you're going to smash them up later) and place onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.
6. Return to the fridge for another hour.
7. Preheat the oven to 180C (Gas mark 4) and bake for 14 minutes or until they are golden in colour.
8. Use Use a spatula to remove the cookies from the tray and leave to cool completely on a cooling rack.

To make the cheesecake

1. Place the parmesan shorbread into a freezer bag and smash up with a rolling pin into a coarse consistency.
2. Melt the butter in a small pan, then add the crumbs and mix well.
3. Spread the crumbs over the base of a tall 20cm springform cake tin. Press down firmly with a glass until it is flat and well compacted.
4. Place the tin with the base into a preheated oven at 180C (gas mark 4) for 15 minutes
5. Put the goats curd and cream cheese into a large mixing bowl and stir with a whisk until smooth and soft.
6. Mix in the soured cream, chives, and thyme.
7. Beat the 4 eggs together and add to the mixture bit by bit, beating just until a smooth consistency is reached.
8. Take the tin out of the oven and brush the surface of the base lightly with egg white.
9. Turn the oven down to 110C (Gas Mark 2). Keep the door open for a minute or two to help it to cool down.
10. When the base has cooled, pour the filling mixture into the tin, and shake gently to level it.
11. Put the tin onto a baking sheet and place in the oven for about 1½ hours until it has almost set but still a bit wobbly in the middle
12. Run a thin spatula around the edge to separate the cake from the tin, then turn the oven off and allow the cheesecake to cool completely inside before taking it out and refrigerating

To make the tomato jam

1. Place tomatoes into a pan with the rest of the ingredients, bring to the boil and lower to a gentle simmer for 2 hours until a thick sticky jammy consistency is reached
2. Allow to cool before transferring to a sterilised jar and keep refrigerated.

To make the pesto

1. Toast the pine nuts
2. Put all ingredients into a food procesor with a chopping blade and pulse until a coarse but even consistency is reached

By Wennie’s Affairs August 30th, 2011

Recipe: Pizza Pinwheels, Hors d'oeuvres perfect for New Year's Eve

Big wheels keep on turning

Friends of ours invited us to their beautiful barn conversion in the Essex countryside. I had enthusiastically promised I would bring an appetiser having spied a blogging opportunity and of course because we love cooking. We were due to leave at 2pm and at 12:30pm we were still glumly starring at a packet of puff pastry. Then inspiration struck.  Pizza pin wheels.  We used ingredients you will find in your pantry and fridge. Bearing in mind that you can buy similar snacks to these in Waitrose for around £4, you can make these for a fraction of the cost!  As always, at Wennie's Affairs, we encourage you to have fun and be inventive. You can experiment with a whole variety of fillings as you would on a pizza; spinach and ricotta, chicken tikka, mexican ground chilli.  Plus you can even make dessert varieties with left over sweet mince meat (which never made it into those mince pies) and drizzled with icing. They are perfect for a New Year's Eve gathering. 

Ingredients:

• 1 packet of puff pastry
• 3 tbsp pesto 
• 1/3 Yellow Pepper
• 3 small tomatoes
• 100g prosciutto ham
• 60g Parmesan cheese
• Milk for brushing
• 2 tsp Dried oregano
• Black pepper

Method:

1. Roll out the pastry onto a lightly floured surface.
2. Brush the pesto evenly over the rolled out pastry.
3. Remove the seeds from the tomato (very important to avoid excess moisture) and finely chop with the pepper and spread on top of the pesto layer.
4. Chop up the ham and evenly distribute over the the peppers and tomatoes.
5. Sprinkle three quarters of the grated parmesan cheese over the ham and grind over some black pepper as the final layer.
6. Starting from one of the short edges roll the pastry up as tightly as you can until it becomes a long roll.
7. Use a sharp knife to cut about 16 discs about 1cm thick and lay out evenly onto a non-stick baking sheet allowing enough room for them to puff up.
8. Preheat the oven to 190C or gas Mark 5. 
9. Leave in the fridge for 20 minutes.
10. Brush the top-side of the wheels with the milk mixed with oregano and the remainder of the Parmesan cheese.  Cook for 20 minutes until golden.

The mixture can be prepared in advance the night before baking and then the rest of method will take less than 10 minutes.

They are a lovely herby and peppery amuse bouche.  Our friend Claire, popped them in the oven for 5 minutes to heat.  We then washed these little treats down with Champagne- our friends know how to look after us.    

Related posts:

• Recipe: Parmesan Shortbread Canapes With a Selection of Cheese Toppings
• Recipe: 3 Way Pork Eastern Dim Sum Hors d’Oeuvres
• Recipe: Jamaican Inspired Spicy Lamb and Sweet Potato Patties (Empanadas)