A delicious appetizer idea, perfect for the mid-August menu or a buffet of appetizers… Savory mini cheesecakes served in glasses, accompanied by a tasty eggplant caponata. The recipe is very simple, you prepare a classic base of crushed taralli (or another dry bread), add a robiola and ricotta cream, and complete with the eggplants. The cheesecakes can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator, so they’ll be ready when needed… try them because they are really tasty and beautiful to present!
Here are other quick and tasty recipes:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6-8
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Seasonality: Summer
- Energy 343.55 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 21.68 (g) of which sugars 3.41 (g)
- Proteins 11.71 (g)
- Fat 23.53 (g) of which saturated 7.58 (g)of which unsaturated 3.57 (g)
- Fibers 1.87 (g)
- Sodium 388.42 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 80 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 12 oz eggplants
- Half onion
- 1 stalk celery
- 0.5 cup tomato puree
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsps vinegar
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- basil
- 7 oz taralli (or breadsticks)
- 5 tbsps butter
- 8 oz robiola cheese
- 8 oz ricotta cheese
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- herbs (to taste)
- pepper
Tools
- 8 Small Glasses or 6 small bowls
- Pan
- Blender
- Bowl
- Small Pot
Preparation
Start by preparing the eggplant caponata: wash the eggplants, remove the ends, and cut them into small cubes.
Sauté them in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt over medium-high heat. When cooked, remove them from the pan and set aside.
In the same pan, sauté the chopped onion together with the celery. Add the tomato puree, salt and cook for 5-6 minutes.
Now add the eggplants and mix. Combine the sugar and vinegar in a small bowl, pour the liquid into the pan, and cook for another 4-5 minutes until the vinegar has evaporated.
Turn off the heat and let it cool (1).
Now prepare the base of your cheesecakes: melt the butter in a small pot and grind the taralli (or breadsticks, or crackers, or a mix of dry bread) in a blender.
Mix the melted butter with the crumbs and place this mixture at the bottom of the glasses (2).
Put the glasses in the refrigerator to allow the base to set.
In the meantime, prepare the cream by mixing robiola, ricotta, a pinch of salt and pepper, a drizzle of oil, and a handful of dried herbs to taste (thyme, oregano, or others).
Take the glasses and distribute the cream without reaching the rim (3).
Level the cream with a teaspoon, then add the eggplant caponata on top. Finish with a few basil leaves, a drizzle of oil, and a grind of pepper, if desired.
Mini savory cheesecakes with eggplants are ready, I recommend chilling them in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes before serving… enjoy!
Tips and Variations
For the base, you can crumble taralli, breadsticks, flatbread, crackers… even mixing them together.
For the cream, you can replace ricotta or robiola with Philadelphia or Greek yogurt.
You can add bell peppers or zucchini cubes to the eggplants.
With these amounts, you can make 8 small appetizer glasses or 6 larger bowls.
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