Lemony Greek
Chicken Soup
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup finely diced onion
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup peeled, finely diced carrot
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
6 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup brown or white rice
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp. lemon zest
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup fresh mint, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
1 cup thinly sliced cooked chicken breast meat
Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat, then add onion, salt and sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes.
Stir in the carrot, celery and oregano and stir for 30 seconds. Pour in 1/2 cup of broth to deglaze the pot until the liquid is reduced by half. Add remaining broth and rice and bring to a boil. Lower heat to maintain a simmer
Whisk lemon juice, zest and egg yolks together, then stir into the soup and cook until it clouds and thickens a bit, about 3 minutes. Stir in the mint, parsley, pepper and another 1/2 tsp. salt, then add chicken and taste. If soup is too sour, add another pinch of salt.
Maple Cheesecake
4 whole graham crackers, broken into pieces
1/4 cup pecans
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake
2 pounds cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups pure Maple Syrup-no substitutes
4 large eggs
Topping
1/3 cup granola
1/2 cup maple syrup
For the crust: adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease bottom and side of 9” springform pan. Process cracker pieces and pecans in food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Add flour, sugar and salt and pulse to combine, about 2 pulses. Add melted butter and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened, about 5 pulses.
Using your hands, press crumbs into an even layer on prepared pan bottom. Using bottom of a dry measuring cup, firmly pack crumbs into pan. Bake until crust smells toasty and is browned around edges, about 18 minutes. Let crust cool completely. Reduce oven temp to 225 degrees for the cheesecake.
For the cheesecake: in clean dry processor bowl, process cream cheese and maple syrup until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. With processor running, add eggs, one at a time until just incorporated, about 40 seconds total. Pour batter onto cooled crust.
Firmly tap pan on counter and set aside for 20 minutes to allow air bubbles to rise to the top. Gently draw tines of fork gently across surface of batter to pop air bubbles that have risen to the surface.
Once oven has reached 225 degrees, bake cheesecake on aluminum foil-lined rimmed baking sheet until edges are set and center jiggles slightly when shaken and cake registers 165 degrees 1/2 inch below surface in center, about 3 hours.
Transfer pan to wire rack and let cool completely, about 2 hours. Refrigerate cheesecake uncovered for 6 hours.
To unmold cheesecake, run tip of paring knife between cake and side of pan. Remove side of pan. Slide thin metal spatula between crust and pan bottom to loosen, then slide cheesecake onto serving platter. Let cheesecake stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
For the topping: Sprinkle granola around top edge of cheesecake. Drizzle maple syrup inside the ring of granola. Spread granola with the back of a spoon to fill in any spaces.
Warm a knife under hot water, then wipe dry. Cut cheesecake into wedges and serve.