Zucchini Ricotta Cheesecake

• servings: 8 servings
• active time: 15 minutes
• total time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups zucchini (unpeeled & grated)

1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

2 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly shredded)

2 shallots (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (chopped)

1/4 cup fresh dill (chopped)

zest of one lemon

2 large eggs (well beaten)

1/3 cup goat cheese (crumbled)

1/2 tsp olive oil (drizzle)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325F degrees, racks the middle. Butter/oil a 7-inch springform pan.

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

In the meantime, combine the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, shallots, garlic, dill and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Stir in the eggs and continue mixing until well combined. Now stir in the shredded zucchini. Fill the springform pan with the ricotta mixture and place on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake for sixty minutes. If there is any moisture left on top of the cake at this point, carefully use a bit of paper towel to dab it off. Now sprinkle with the goat cheese and return to the oven for another 20 to 30 minutes or until the goat cheese is melted and the cake barely jiggles in the center (it will set up more as it cools).

At this point, if the cake is baked and set, but the top isn't quite golden, I'll zap it with the broiler (just about a minute) to get a bit more color on top. Remove from the oven and let cool five minutes, then release the cake from its pan. Cool completely, serve at room temperature drizzled with a bit of olive oil and a few sprigs of dill.

Nutrition

• Calories: 212 kcal
• Total Fat: 15 g
• Saturated Fat: 9 g
• Cholesterol: 88 mg
• Sodium: 510 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 4 g
• Total Sugars: 1 g
• Protein: 14 g