Yotam Ottolenghi's aubergine 'cheesecake'

[achookwoman]

This recipe was featured in the Guardian (English ) newspaper. It was simple,  imaginative and versatile.   The 'cheesecake' part of the recipe was readily converted to the TMX.

Olive oil
1 large or 2 small eggplants (aubergines)
Salt and pepper
150g. feta
150g. cream cheese
60g. cream
3 eggs
150g. baby plum tomatoes,  cut in 1/2 length ways
2 tablespoons of fresh oregano leaves
3/4 teaspoon of za'atar (optional)


Pre heat oven to 190
Line the base and sides of a 19cm.  baking dish with foil
Brush with oil
Cut eggplant into 1cm. slices,  lay flat on oven tray,  spray with oil and roast for 40 mins.  or until cooked and brown
Reduce temp. of oven to 150.
While eggplant is cooking,  place in TMX bowl, feta, cream cheese, cream and eggs.
Zap for 1 1/2 mins. at speed 5
When eggplant is cooked arrange in baking dish so that it is slightly overlapping.
Fill any holes with the tomatoes and sprinkle with 1/2 the oregano leaves
Pour cheese mixture over,  without covering the base completely.(You may not need all the cheese mix)
Sprinkle the remaining oregano over, and bake for 30 mins. (to set the cheese mix)
When cooked,  remove from the oven,  mix the za'atar with 1 dessertspoon of oil and make small puddles on the top.


Serve with salad as a main.
Serve as entree.
Could add mushrooms and/or olives


Thermomixer wrote:
Photo from your blog to show others:

[CreamPuff63]

Sumac is a middle eastern/mediterranean spice I have just found out, and supposedly available from the supermarket?

Za'atar is a spice blend that is so versatile! It can be used on meats, veggies, rice and breads. And, yes, it has been known to make me yell "Bam!" every once in a while. (I had to look up what it was, and it was their words not mine but I liked this so I left it in  )

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
•1/4 cup sumac
•2 tablespoons thyme
•1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
•2 tablespoons marjoram
•2 tablespoons oregano
•1 teaspoon coarse salt
Preparation:
Grind the sesame seeds in food processor or with mortar and pestle. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Store za'atar in a cool, dark place in a plastic zip bag or in an airtight container. When stored properly, za'atar can be used from 3-6 months. Source: About.com

[achookwoman]

Thanks for that info,  Creampuff.63.  I didn't have the Za'atar so used a Berber spice and it was very nice,  seemed to compliment the dish.

[Thermomixer]

Good work Chookie sounds great.  Might try to make it all in the TMX ?? Challenge.

[achookwoman]

Thanks Thermomixer,  still haven't got the photo thing worked out.  Even the non- vegetarians liked this.

[Tebasile]

Wow Chookie, what an interesting recipe and I love the taste of za'atar. Thank you 

[Tebasile]

I prepared this for tomorrow and had a little taste. OMG, this is sooooooooo good. I hope, my friends won't like it . I made it with goat feta, goat cream cheese, goat sour cream and carrots instead tomatoes. Thank you Chookie 

[achookwoman]

Tebasaile,  so glad to see you experimenting with this recipe,  and having great success.  Thought I might add some mushrooms and red peppers to the next one.

[meganjane]

Thanks for this one chookie, it's in the oven now!
I had to make quite a few changes, so we'll see how it goes. I didn't have enough eggplant, so used zucchini, didn't have enough feta, so used some marinated that I had and replaced the rest with cream cheese. I used yoghurt instead of cream!
I threw in some basil leaves that I had in the garden to see how that went as well as the oregano.
Will keep the thread updated.

[achookwoman]

MJ,  cant see why this wouldn't work.   Let us know.

[meganjane]

It was absolutely superb! My DD came over from work for lunch and devoured two large pieces! I made quite a large dish, so made 50% more cheese filling. I didn't have any za'atar, so used dukkah mixed with oil and it was just lovely.

Thanks so much for posting this.

[achookwoman]

Good to know that the changes worked well.

[Tebasile]

Thought I might add some mushrooms and red peppers to the next one.

I thought the same  .

[Thermomixer]

Looks good Tebasile.  Great work