A Cheesecake by any other name...

What can I say about this....other than WOW!

I grew tired of the recipes I had, so asked a food group I'm on to please give me some ideas. They did! This is one of them. A Savory Cheesecake.

First, the Muffin Man's reaction, and MiniB Muffin. I don't have a regular sized springform pan, so I just used my two 6 inch ones. We ate one last night. I encouraged the Muffin Man to eat more, but he insisted we take it to church with us tomorrow night and have it served to the worship team and Rabbi. MiniB Muffin wasn't sure with her first taste, and continued to not be sure. But by the end of the meal she was snarfing down her portion. I think that the next time I serve this, she will be less cautious.

Me? Well, let's just say it's a good thing I was full, or the Rabbi wouldn't be getting any.

Warning, this dish is long, involved, and oh so worth it! Here is the recipe.

Savory Vegetable Cheesecake
This main-dish cheesecake comes from Mollie Katzen's "The Enchanted Broccoli Forest".
8 servings, 2 hours 30 min prep

3 cups grated zucchini
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup minced onions
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup grated carrots
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup freshly minced parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 large eggs
fresh ground black pepper
2 medium tomatoes, sliced into rounds,then sliced in half
3-4 tablespoons breadcrumbs

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees farenheit.
2. Butter a 10" springform pan and sprinkle with breadcrumbs, set aside.
3. Put the grated zucchini into a colander.
4. Salt lightly, and let is sit about 15 minutes, then squeeze out any excess moisture.
5. Saute the onions in butter with 1/2 t salt.
6. When they start to turn translucent, add the carrots, garlic, zucchini, flour, basil and oregano.
7. Keep stirring and cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes.
8. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley and lemon.
9. Beat the cheeses and eggs together until well blended.
10. (Hello, Kitchenaid mixer!) When the cheese and egg mixture is nice and fluffy, fold in the veggies.
11. Season to taste with black pepper.
12. Pour the mixture into the springform pan.
13. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes-- then pull it out for a minute.
14. Remember those tomatoes?
15. Dredge them in the breadcrumbs and decorate the top of the cheesecake with them in a pretty spiral pattern.
16. Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees, and bake another 30 minutes.
17. Turn off the oven and just let the cheesecake sit in there for another 15 minutes.
18. Then, take it out of the oven and let it cool about 10 more minutes before cutting and serving.