A bit sweet, a bit savoury. Terribly simple, but very delicious.
Better baked, of course … but fine as is if you’re nowhere near an oven.
Recipe based on: imagination.
Gather:
1 full wheel of brie or camembert (not too firm but not too ripe)
1 handful of walnuts
Salt and pepper
A few sprigs of thyme
1 handful of dried cranberries
Then:
- Slice the brie horizontally, to make two half-height discs.
- Roughly chop the walnuts, then toast them in a small frying pan with the salt and pepper until they just begin to brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Pull the thyme leaves from the stems (discard the latter) and then roughly chop the leaves together with the cranberries.
- Carefully cover the open top of one brie disc with the walnuts, going all the way to the edges.
- Add the cranberry/thyme mixture on top of the walnuts — ditto re: the edges.
- Place the other disc of brie on top (like closing a sandwich). Then wrap the whole thing in greaseproof paper and tie it up.
- Store in the fridge until just before cheese o’clock. If you leave it for a couple of days the flavours will really settle in — just remember to leave it at room temperature for 15–30 minutes (depending on the original softness/structural integrity of the cheese) before serving.* With seedy olive oil crackers, ideally.
Notes:
*If you are planning to bake the brie, I’d recommend first replacing the greaseproof paper with aluminium foil, then baking on a moderate heat (170° C) for about 15 minutes, then serving immediately. But full disclosure: I haven’t tried this. So tell me how it goes if you do!