Molly Cookie

Savory Yogurt Cheesecake with Caramelized Onions

Aug 17, 2009 Appetizers, Dips and Spreads, Yummy

About a year ago I bought the Cooking Light Complete Cookbook. It’s funny that they call it the “Complete Cookbook”, because I know the magazine still exists. I’m sure after a while they will come out with another edition (if they haven’t already), and this will be out of date. It does have some great recipes in it. The problem is, they want me to use ingredients that are fat-free or reduced fat, and that is the only thing that really makes them “light”. Most of the time what will happen is I’ll start to make a recipe and realize that I already have a lot of the ingredients in their more fattening form, so I use those ingredients instead of what they want me to use…so they probably aren’t that light anymore. It’s alright though, because they are good, and if I ever want to make a low-fat pasta or cookie I have the recipe to do it. I just more often than not don’t.

When I got the cook book I browsed through it and noticed this recipe immediately. The picture in the cookbook looks amazing, and since I LOVE caramelized onions, it seemed like something I would like. I put a sticky note in the book and wrote “Christmas Eve” on the note thinking that I would make this recipe for a special occasion. Well… Christmas Eve came and went, and then several months passed before I actually made it. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago at my annual Wine party when I decided it was time to try this recipe. The name could be a little deceiving if you don’t read it closely. This is a SAVORY cheesecake, not to be mistaken for a dessert cheesecake, which is meant to be spread on crackers or bread or something. I bought some bagel crisps, which went perfectly with it. The wine party was really fun, and we spent the evening eating appetizers, drinking different kinds of everyone’s favorite wine, and taking some fun pictures. I decided to include a few of those for you to enjoy.

At first when I read the recipe everything seemed to be easy enough. The first step involves draining the yogurt overnight in a cheesecloth. Great… except I didn’t have cheesecloth. Brian did a google search for things that you could substitute for cheesecloth and coffee filters came up. I went to the grocery store in search of either cheesecloth or coffee filters, and the grocery store had neither. What kind of grocery store doesn’t have coffee filters? So I ended up using some paper towels that don’t fall apart when they get wet. This was a bad idea though because they were SO durable that absolutely none of the liquid drained from the yogurt. It sat in my fridge all night and didn’t change at all. When I took the yogurt out of the fridge ready to make my cheesecake for the party, I decided I would just go with the yogurt as is, but it did worry me… a lot. As I mixed the ingredients I saw it was extremely wet and didn’t seem to resemble at all the dense, cheesecake-like texture. I did it anyway though, and after baking it for an extra 15 minutes it seemed to be alright. It must have been good, because at the party my friends Matt and Erin stood around the dip (I’m calling it a dip now) and consumed enough to make me feel good about myself. I would make this again (probably using cheesecloth next time) because the flavor was great and if you like caramelized onions it is a wonderful appetizer.

Savory Yogurt Cheesecake with Caramelized Onions- from Cooking Light

Prep: 25 min Cook time: 1 hr. 30 min Other: 12 hr

Filling:
1 (32 oz) carton plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup (4 oz) block-style fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg yolk

Crust:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 TBS butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup ice water
cooking spray

Onions:
1 tsp butter
8 cups sliced onion (about 1/2 pounds) *I used two large onions and this was perfect
1 TBS sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme *I used fresh thyme and it tasted great

1. To prepare filling, place colander in a 2-quart glass measure or medium bowl. Line colander with 4 layers of cheesecloth, allowing cheesecloth to extend over outside edges. Spoon yogurt into colander. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; refrigerate 12 hours.

2. Spoon 1 3/4 cups yogurt cheese into a bowl; discard liquid. Place cream cheese into a bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add yogurt cheese, ricotta cheese, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and egg yolk. Beat at low speed until just blended.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. To prepare crust, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place flour, corn meal, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and dash of pepper in a food processor; pulse 3 times or until combined. Add 2 1/2 TBS butter, pluse 4 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. With processor on, add ice water through food chute, processing just until moist (do not form a ball). Press cornmeal mixture into bottom of an 8-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

5. To prepare onions, while crust bakes and cools, melt 1 tsp butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1 TBS sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Cover and cook 25 minutes or until browned and tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in thyme.

6. Spread yogurt mixture into prepared crust. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until almost set. Cool on a wire rack. (Cheesecake will continue to set as it cools). Serve at room temperature. Cut cheesecake into wedges, serve with onions. Yield: 10 servings

Tags: appetizer, Caramelized onions, Cooking Light