May 14, 2021

Basque cheesecake —and Part 6 (and last) of the vegetable garden: the ground cover

Natacha Sanz Caballero Desserts and Sweets gardening, huerto, postre español, restaurante La Viña, tarta de queso, tarta de queso de San Sebastián, vegetable garden

You’ve probably heard of Basque cheesecake, San Sebastián cheesecake, or cheseecake from La Viña restaurant. I’m sharing that recipe today, which is not mine, but Santiago Rivera’s, chef at La Viña resturant in San Sebastián.

I thought this cheesecake was perfect to accompany Part 6 (and last) of the construction of our vegetable garden last year. My aunt Isa loves gardening, and she has a green thumb —her garden is always colorful and exuberant— and gardening reminds me of her.

I’ve mentioned my aunt Isa on this blog before. My aunt Isa (my mom’s youngest sister) moved to Puerto Rico after she married my uncle. They lived there for a number of years and then, with three young children in tow (one of them a baby) moved back to Spain. While in Puerto Rico, my aunt, like any good expatriate (I feel identified!) experienced in the kitchen with dishes typical of the island, and also with her husband‘s family recipes. One such recipe was flan de queso, cheese flan.

Dave digs a trench under the fence

I have to stretch my back once in a while

I staple chicken wire to to the fence and the garden edge

The lower barrier is coming along

And this is how the bottom barrier looks like

We spread garden fabric

It will help prevent weeds from growing through the pea gravel

We cover the ground completely with garden fabric

And distribute the (very heavy!) bags of pea gravel as we go

Cutting through the bags and seeing the pea gravel run off is the easiest and most satisfying task

Cheese flan has been made over and over by her and by my mom in Spain ever since she moved back in the 80’s. Cheese flan is the family recipe we don’t share (it’s a family secret!), but has always been present at family reunions, house parties and sometimes brought to potlucks.

Recently, I’ve been seeing a cheesecake (both on TV as on social media and weekly publications, both Spanish and American ones) that looked almost exactly like my aunt’s cheese flan. In fact, this so-called San Sebastián cheesecake, or Basque cheesecake, or cheesecake from La Viña restaurant in San Sebastián, has become almost viral.

Spreading the pea gravel by sections

It is teamwork!

Spreading more fabric, stapling it to the ground, spreading pea gravel, section by section

Pea gravel is very heavy, and getting it in bags was more practical than ordering it in bulk

One last effort, as the leaves keep announcing that winter’s coming

Look at the difference!

Just before the trees loose their leaves

The burning beauty

The leaves will protect and feed the soil when they decompose

Ready for winter. Until next spring!

Since it looked so much like my aunt’s cheese flan, I was very curious about it. To my surprise, the restaurant’s chef is so generous, he has shared the recipe with the world! I found the original recipe the restaurant has followed for years, and after reading the list of ingredients I realized it was quite different from my aunt’s cheese flan recipe. Only two ingredients were the same! I have to say I was quite relieved, because as I said, my aunt’s recipe has been kept in the family.

I, however, had to try the Basque cheesecake from La Viña and made it. To my surprise, even if the ingredients were not the same, not only its looks, but also its flavor and texture was practically identical to my aunt’s cheese flan. Unbelievable!

So, because I cannot share our family’s cheese flan recipe, I’m sharing the La Viña‘s restaurant Basque cheesecake recipe. For our family, I reduced the quantities (and therefore the pan size and the baking times), but I’m including the original ingredients list from the restaurant, and added a few notes on pan size and baking times if you decide to make the original, larger cheesecake from La Viña restaurant.

This cheesecake is not only easy to make, but I can promise you haven’t tasted a more delicious cheesecake before.

Some of the differences between Basque cheesecake and American cheesecake:

Basque cheesecake looks slightly burnt on top (it is not)
Basque cheesecake doesn’t have a cookie crust
Basque cheesecake melts in your mouth, it is lighter than American cheesecake
Basque cheesecake doesn’t include butter, or vanilla, or any other flavorings

Make it, and let me know how you like it. I bet it will become a favorite!

Vegetable garden: the ground cover

As for my vegetable garden, after building the fence and gate it was time to remove the chicken wire that had been protecting the plants in each bed during the summer. So the next step was to ensure that the small animals wouldn’t get under the fence (even the ones who burrow!). Dave dug a trench where we buried yards of rubber garden edge. At the same time, I cut out strips of chicken wire, which I proceeded to staple to both the rubber edge and the wood fence.

We spent a good amount of time pondering whether to line the wood fence with more chicken wire to block the access of other animals (namely: rabbits) to the garden. In the one hand, it would protect the vegetables, but in the other hand, we weren’t so sure about how it would look, esthetically. My friend Alice Eshelman game us the answer: she suggested we use a product called blood meal instead —apparently animals are repelled by it. That solved our conundrum —thank you, Alice!

At last it was time to cover the ground. Of all the options possible, Dave conceded and agreed to use pea gravel, my wish! Before spreading the gravel we covered the ground with garden fabric and fixed it with U-shaped garden staples. Spreading the pea gravel and seeing the garden being transformed was a dream come true. Just in time for the leaves to burst into autumn colors, fall, and be collected to protect the beds until next year…which is now.

Time to plant.

PS: for links to the products used, click on their names (in purple)

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