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Quixotic Cheesecake




Source of Recipe


Teresa Annette Johnston


Recipe Introduction


The combination of chocolate, eggplant
and cream cheese sounds unusual, but the
finished product is ultradelicious--and
won everyone's applause. Ms. Johnston
says that as a yoga teacher, she used her
intuition to conceive of the idea. The concept
of a cheesecake popped into her
head, and, keeping in mind that she wanted
a gingery mincemeat taste with a mulled
wine undertone, she decided chocolate
would unify the various flavors. "Then,
when I started making it, I just followed
my intuition," she says.




List of Ingredients




Nut Crust
5 Tbs. softened butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups untoasted walnuts

Cheesecake Filling
1 large eggplant (about 1 1/2 lb.)
4 large eggs
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Sauce
Juice of 3 oranges and 2 lemons
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbs. butter
3/4 tsp. salt
1/3 tsp. ground cloves
3 pieces chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts


Recipe



1. To make Nut Crust: Combine butter,
salt and sugar in food processor. Mix until
creamy. Add walnuts, and process until
ingredients are smooth. Place nut mixture
into 10-inch deep-dish pie plate. Using
spatula, build up sides, and smooth out
bottom to form crust. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 325F.

3. To make Cheesecake Filling: Slice off
stem end of large eggplant. Cut off about 2
inches more, and peel. Cut chunk into 1-inch
cubes, and place in food processor.
Process eggplant, yielding about 1.4 cup
eggplant puree. Add eggs, and process.
Add salt, sugar and chocolate chips, and
process on high speed 1 minute. Add
cream cheese and vanilla, and process. Let
chocolate bits stay in mixture, as these
sink to form bottom cheesecake layer.
Pour mixture into nut crust. Slice remainder
of eggplant, skin on, into 1/8-inch-thick
rounds. Wrap in plastic, and set aside.
4. Bake 55 minutes, or until center is firm.
Remove from oven, and cool at least 30
minutes.

5. Meanwhile, to make Sauce: Combine
orange and lemon juices, sugar, butter, salt,
cloves and chopped ginger in large
saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring
often, until boiling. Reduce heat to low,
stirring occasionally. Place eggplant slices
in saucepan, and cook 25 minutes.

6. Toast walnuts until golden. Remove eggplant
slices from sauce mixture, and
arrange eggplant attractively on cheesecake,
overlapping slices if necessary. Add
nuts to sauce.

7. Spoon 6 tablespoons sauce, including
nuts, over eggplant slices. Cover cheesecake
in plastic or foil, and refrigerate at
least 2 hours. Refrigerate remaining sauce.

8. To serve, heat sauce over low heat.
Using sharp knife, cut cheesecake into 12
portions, and place on plates. Spoon sauce
over each serving, and pass.