In my neck of the woods, we have an annual celebration of all things maple in the spring. It’s called the Maple Festival, and as I walked the parade route with friends admiring horses, I smelled the maple sap boiling.
Then it dawned on me that homemade maple pepper bacon would be delicious.
And that bacon led me to this cheesecake.
Because once the bacon was cooked and cooling – and had unleashed it’s sweet and savory aroma – I decided to marry it with cheeses in the fridge.
I mean, why not?
And to stay with the “local” theme, I also tossed in some horseradish my mother and grandmother made last spring.
Then things took a turn for the weird.
The cake was beautiful and golden brown, but it screamed for some green to celebrate the snow finally (finally!) disappearing.
Some delicate lettuce would have been perfect, but the fridge only held collard greens.
Again, why not? So I wilted the collard greens with vinegar and salt and tossed it with some cherry tomatoes.
The result was a meal that was off-the-chart with flavor.
Note: Even though this may look complicated, it’s really not. You’re just baking a couple of things, and combining a few things. You can even enjoy a cocktail while pulling it together.
Ricotta Cheddar Cheesecake with Maple Bacon
Total Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Serves 8.
Maple Pepper Bacon Ingredients:
- 3 slices smoked bacon
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon very coarsely ground pepper
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lay bacon on a rack over a rimmed baking sheet, lined with aluminum foil.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until moderately crispy.
Remove bacon from the oven, and replace the aluminum foil in the pan. (You don’t want the syrup mixing with grease in the pan. Hello, smoke alarm!)
Baste the bacon with maple syrup, and sprinkle with pepper.
Cook for 5-8 minutes, or until candied and done to your preference.
Let drain on paper towels and reserve.
Ricotta Cheddar Cheesecake Ingredients:
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 15-oz. container whole milk ricotta
- 1 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar
- ½ cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 shallot, diced
- 1 slice of maple bacon, crumbled
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon horseradish
Instructions:
Keep oven at 350 degrees.
Grease a spring form pan, with olive oil, butter or a non-stick cooking spray.
Combine the panko, butter, and olive oil in a small bowl. Stir well.
Pat the panko into the spring form pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. (You can do this while the bacon is baking.)
In a food processor with a metal blade or a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, process the ricotta, cheddar, parsley, shallot, egg, and horseradish until well blended.
Spoon the mixture over the panko crust.
Bake for 1 hour, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Place pan on a cooling rack.
Let sit for 5 minutes and remove the ring of the pan.
Collard Greens and Tomato Topping Ingredients:
- 1 collard greens leaf, julienned
- ½ teaspoon sherry or rice wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
Instructions:
In a small bowl, massage the collard greens with vinegar and salt until softened, about 3 minutes. Combine with cherry tomatoes.
Top the cheese cake with the collard greens mixture.
Garnish with reserved bacon.
Enjoy!
Bonus: How to Freeze Cheesecake
Mmm. So now you’ve eaten half of the cheesecake, but you want to freeze the rest.
What do you do?
First, you need to take the topping off. Serve it on a salad or as a snack. Whatever you want, just don’t freeze it.
Then, lay out a piece of plastic wrap, and gently place a wedge of cheese cake on it. Wrap it up, and then wrap it again with a second piece. Then wrap it in aluminum foil. Then, place it on a piece of cardboard.
(What to do with those pesky empty wine boxes? Here’s a solution!)
And wrap aluminum foil around the cake and the cardboard. Place it on a flat surface in the freezer.
Freeze for up to a month. To reheat, let thaw in the fridge for a day and reheat in 350 degree oven until warm through – you’ll know it’s done when you can smell it. Yum!
(Photos by Launie K.)
