Summer Squash & Ricotta Cheesecake

 It has been a hustle and bustle month for me. Amongst many things, we are in the midst of buying a farm. It is a process, but the end results will be amazing. Wide open spaces are a bit rare in Cook County Minnesota, so when we stumbled upon an old family farmstead, over looking Lake Superior, with a near 10 acres it was instant love. I am looking forward to growing more of my own food. I am constantly flipping through seed catalogs searching for seeds that are better suited for this sometimes unruly northern climate. I have also been stock piling recipes to put my produce to work feeding my family. I found this recipe, originally a zucchini cheesecake recipe, and decided to give it a try. I had a beautiful specimen of a summer squash, bright yellow and unblemished, and it wanted to be a star. I think of this recipe as a base recipe, meaning the flavors are calm and not too pushy. It's a great base for adding flavors to. I went with fresh basil, sun-dried tomatoes, and scallions to flavor the cheesecake. Any fresh herbs would work nicely, and bold flavorful add ins will accentuate the subtle flavors of the summer squash and ricotta.  Think roasted corn and chipotle peppers, or rosemary and bacon, or toasted almonds and poblano peppers. Endless possibilities for a future endless bounty of summer squash. Belly up!!


2 cups summer squash, unpeeled & grated
1 tsp sea salt
2 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 bunch of scallions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffinade
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
2 Tablespoons sun dried tomatoes, chopped
3 large eggs, well beaten
1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled
drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter/ oil a 6 inch spring-form pan.  A 6 inch spring- form pan is kind of a rare size, so a tart or pie pan would work too.

In a strainer, toss the shredded summer squash with the salt and let sit for ten minutes. Now aggressively squeeze and press out as much moisture as you can. Set aside.

In the meantime, combine the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl, and mix until well combined. Fold in the summer squash. Fill the springform pan with the ricotta- squash mixture and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour- 1 hour and 20 minutes or until the cake barely jiggles in the center (it will set up more as it cools).

Remove from the oven and let cool 5 minutes, then release the cake from its pan. Cool completely, serve at room temperature with a bit of olive oil drizzled on top.

This cheesecake is made with ricotta, so the texture is going to be different than a traditional cheesecake. We ate slices of this for appetizers, and I think this would be really great baked in a crust of some kind- maybe a cornmeal pie crust?....