Baked herb Camembert with plum chutney
If you’ve never tried baking Camembert cheese before, you’ve got to try it! It’s the easiest thing to do (you pretty much just bung it in the oven), and it becomes all melty and gooey.
Ingredients
Plum, beetroot and red onion chutney
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 red onion finely sliced
- 1 beetroot medium, peeled, finely diced
- ¼ cup dried currants optional
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 3½ tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup red-fleshed plums use a dark red fleshed plum like omega,diced
Baked herb Camembert
- 200-250 g Camembert or Brie cheese 1 round
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary and/or thyme leaves
- drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil
- freshly cracked black pepper
To serve
- bread or crackers
Instructions
- To make the chutney, heat olive oil in a fry pan on medium heat. Cook onion, beetroot and currants (if using) for 10-15 minutes until soft.
- Stir in vinegar, sugar and plums. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning on the bottom of the pan, until reduced and thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper (and a little more sugar if needed). The chutney will keep in the fridge for about a week.
- To bake the cheese, preheat oven to 180degC. Thinly slice the rind off one side of the Camembert/brie, being careful not to remove too much of the cheese inside. Place in a ramekin or small oven-proof dish, cut-side up. Sprinkle over herbs, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and grind over plenty of black pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until melted and gooey. Halfway through cooking time you can throw some thin slices of bread in the oven on a tray to toast for about 10 minutes.
- To serve: place Camembert, a small bowl of chutney and bread/crackers on the table and let everyone help themselves – spread a bit of chutney and gooey Camembert on your bread or cracker, and eat!
Notes
This Camembert simply scrumptious served with some toasted bread or crackers and a fruity chutney, for which I’ve chosen plum. If plums are out of season, you could use a store-bought chutney.
This makes a great appetizer for entertaining guests, or you could even serve it as a cheeseboard for dessert.