Sunday, June 12, 2016

Tortellini, Bacon and Smoked Mozzarella Cheesecake


Fresh chicken eggs are what inspired this recipe, and what goes better with eggs than bacon and cheese? 



                                                                                                                          First I baked the bacon, I always bake my bacon. Next I beat 5 eggs with a 1/4 cup of heavy cream, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan and seasoned them with a little pinch of salt and black pepper. Go easy on the salt because the bacon and the cheese are salty on their own. I chose to use cheese stuffed tortellini but you can really uses any pasta of your choice.
Now I set the pasta to boil, keep them a little al dente because you are going to bake it also. While the pasta was boiling I grated 1/2 pound of smoked mozzarella. When the pasta was done I drained it and set it aside to cool because if you add the eggs when the pasta is hot they will scramble and the cheese will melt. While I was waiting for the pasta to cool I chopped up the bacon. Then I mixed it together in a large bowl, the pasta, bacon, eggs mixture, the smoked mozzarella and I added a cup or more of ricotta cheese until it was well incorporate. At this point I prepared a 9 inch spring form pan by greasing it well with butter and coated the butter with panko bread crumbs. I added the pasta mixture to the pan and topped it with more panko crumbs. I baked it at 350 until it was set and bubbling about 40-45 minutes. Remove it from the oven and let it set up a bit before cutting into it so the slices stay together.
*You can add fresh parsley or any herb of your choice, green onion would be a nice addition too.
**It's a great make ahead meal for a dinner party, you can put it together the day before and spend time with your guests while it bakes.
***A nice salad, a bottle of wine and dessert and your dinner is complete!!
****HAPPY COOKING, CHEERS!!         

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