Holiday Chile Cheesecake
Author: Anita Edge
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Total time: 45 mins
A festive cheesecake to be served as you would a cheeseball, with bread or tortilla chips. This is mild to medium hot.
Ingredients
  • 1 cup crushed tortilla chips (I pulsed them in a blender)
  • 3 tbsp melted butter
  • 16 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 2 eggs
  • ⅛ tsp cumin
  • ¼ tsp chili powder
  • ¾ cup mild diced green chiles (I used Select New Mexico)
  • 1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
  • 1 cup shredded extra sharp Cheddar
  • 4 cups fresh spinach, chopped (or 1 10 oz package frozen spinach, drained)
  • ⅔ cup Select New Mexico red chile puree
  • optional garnish: tomatoes, olives, shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole, chopped green onions, cilantro
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Mix the tortilla chip crumbs and the butter and press into the bottom of a 9" springform pan. Bake for 15 minutes, then set aside to cool.
  3. Put the spinach in a food processor and pulse to chop fine.
  4. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, eggs, spices, and shredded cheeses together with a mixer.
  5. Separate batter into two halves. Blend the spinach into one and the red chile puree into the other.
  6. Pour the batters into the springform pan in whatever pattern you want. Keep it simple. Don't try to swirl them as red and green make brown.
  7. Bake for 25 minutes, then turn oven off and leave in oven for another 15 minutes. Do not overcook.
  8. When cool, slide knife around the edge and remove sides of springform pan. Slide knife or spatula under the entire crust and gently slide onto a serving plate.
  9. Garnish with sour cream, cherry tomatoes, olives, whatever. I used a cake decorating kit to pipe Wholly Guacamole on to make it look a bit like a wreath.
Notes
I suggest making each color as a separate cheesecake: Spinach Chile Cheesecake - follow recipe as a above, but use 6 cups spinach or 2 10-oz boxes frozen spinach. Eliminate red chile puree. Red Chile Cheesecake: Follow recipe as above, but use 1 cup red chile puree and eliminate spinach.
Recipe by Denver Green Chili at https://denvergreenchili.com/recipes/appetizers/holiday-chile-cheesecake/