Savory Cheesecake with Marinated Beets & Finger Lime Caviar
The holiday season is about sharing, celebrating, wishing good tidings, and lots of delicious food. It's a time to welcome family and friends into your home to show them how much they mean to you. You do this with warm hospitality, embellished surroundings, and special and sometimes decadent dishes served at your holiday table.
This month's recipe is a savory take on a classically sweet dish. I've taken cheesecake, an all-time favorite dessert, and reimagined it as a tasty appetizer or first course, resulting in a surprising showstopper for your holiday table. Tofu and plant-based cream cheese are the basis for the filling, but I've left out the sweet stuff (sugar and vanilla extract), and substituted with umami-rich white miso paste, fresh lime juice, some sea salt, and some white pepper to make this appetizer or first-course-appropriate. Minced fresh chives and dill are added to the filling for herbaceous flavor and color, and savory crackers replace graham crackers in the crust.
Because the top of this cheesecake ends up crackled, and for even more flavor dimension, a layer of hummus (your favorite homemade or store-bought) is spread in an even layer over the top like icing on a cake. Then, for a final topping worthy of this special cheesecake, marinated red and golden beets are piled on over the hummus. A garnish of finger lime caviar and a sprinkling of fresh dill fronds and snippets of chives finish this unexpected and delightful work of culinary artistry.
Wishing you a warm & wonderful holiday season filled with many delicious memories.
Savory Cheesecake with Marinated Beets & Finger Lime Caviar
Ingredients
Marinated Beets
2 packages steamed baby red beets, diced
1 package steamed golden beets, diced
1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
To make the marinated beets, place the beets in a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high heat for 90 seconds until tender. Pour the seasoned rice vinegar and extra virgin olive oil over the beets, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
Savory Cheesecake Crust
4 cups plant-based crackers
5 tablespoons plant-based butter, cubed
To make the crust, in a food processor, pulse the crackers until finely ground. Add in the butter and pulse again until crumbly. Put the crust mixture into the bottom of a 9" springform pan until the bottom is completely covered and level. Refrigerate the crust while you make the filling.
Savory Cheesecake Filling
(ingredients should be at room temperature)
1 1/2 packages organic firm tofu
12 ounces plant-based cream cheese
2 tablespoons white miso paste
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons fresh chives, minced
2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced
Garnishes
1 small container of hummus
"caviar" from 3-4 finger limes
1 1/2 tablespoons chives, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons dill fronds
To make the filling, blend the tofu until completely smooth. Add in the cream cheese, miso paste, lime juice, sea salt, and white pepper and process until completely smooth. Hand blend in the minced chives and dill until well combined. Preheat the oven to 325º.
Remove the crust from the refrigerator. Pour the filling over the crust, smoothing the top with a knife or spatula.
Bake for 45 minutes until lightly browned - the cheesecake will still jiggle a little and be cracked on top.
Turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake inside for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove the cheesecake from the oven and cool to room temperature. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it in the refrigerator overnight.
Remove the cheesecake from the refrigerator and spread an even layer of the hummus over the top. Spoon the marinated diced beets over the hummus to completely cover. Squeeze the finger lime caviar over the beets and then sprinkle with the chives and dill. Remove the cheesecake from the springform pan and place it on a platter. Your fabulous Savory Cheesecake with Marinated Beets & Finger Lime Caviar is now ready to serve to hopefully many oohs and aahs.
