Smoked Salmon Cheesecake with a Walnut Crust

Name: Smoked Salmon Cheesecake with a Walnut Crust
Ingredients: ⅓ cup half-and-half; 1¾ pounds cream cheese at room temperature; 1 yellow onion, minced; 3 tablespoons unsalted butter; ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried; ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese; 8 ounces good-quality smoked salmon, finely chopped; 4 large eggs, separated; ¼ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper; ½ teaspoon Kosher or sea salt; ½ teaspoon Kosher or sea salt; ⅔ cup grated Gruyère or Asiago cheese; ⅔ cup grated Gruyère or Asiago cheese; 2 cups panko or other coarse, dry bread crumbs; ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese; ¾ cup finely chopped toasted walnuts; 2 cups panko or other coarse, dry bread crumbs; 2 cups panko or other coarse, dry bread crumbs

Preparation info

Serves
12

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

From the Earth to the Table

By John Ash

Published 1995

About

This makes an elegant first course or lunch main course. For lunch, a small slice of this rich, savory cheesecake with a salad of baby greens would be plenty. When this cake is ready to take from the oven, a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

Ingredients

Crust

2 cups panko or other coarse, dry bread crumbs
¾ cup finely chopped toasted walnuts

Lunch
Starter
Fish course
Pescatarian

Method

To make the crust: In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, walnuts, Parmesan cheese, and dill and stir gently. Drizzle the butter in slowly while stirring to lightly coat the bread crumbs. They should still be loose and not compacted. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a buttered 9-inch springform pan. (The crust will not come all the way up the sides of the pan.) R