Deep Fried Brie with Cranberry Chutney...

I absolutely love cheese! A wedge of mature Irish cheddar on a slice of warm soda bread, a generous portion of Roquefort with a chilled Sauterne or smooth creamy garlic and herb Le Roule spread thickly over oat cakes – I love it all! One of my all time favourites though is deep fried Brie or Camembert with homemade chutney. This is top of my list of things to order when I dine out.

Before I watched Simon Rimmer prepare this dish on Something for the Weekend I thought it was well beyond my capabilities. The idea of deep frying cheese made me nervous – maybe because I am so accident prone – but really this is such a simple dish to make. I don’t have a deep fat fryer but I did use my wok – it worked very well but it is important to be careful (especially if you’re accident prone like me) as hot oil can be dangerous.

The best thing is now I don’t have to wait to go to a restaurant to have it – I can make it at home easily whenever I have a craving – which unfortunately for my waistline is often.

It’s perfect for lunch or elegant starter and will definitely impress your dinner guests. I serve mine with a simple salad of rocket (arugula) with red peppers and a lime vinaigrette.

Here is Simon Rimmer’s recipe from the BBC Food website.

Deep Fried Brie with Cranberry Chutney

Ingredients

For the chutney

1-2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 red chilli, finely chopped

200g/7oz demerara sugar

150ml/5½fl oz red wine vinegar

250g/9oz fresh cranberries (the supermarkets have these in abundance in the lead up to Christmas so buy a few packs and freeze them for later)

100g/3½oz dried cranberries

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp ground cloves

For the deep-fried Brie

100g/3½oz plain flour

2 free-range eggs, beaten

125g/4½oz polenta (I have used both regular bread crumbs and gluten free bread crumbs and both work just as well as polenta)

1 lime, zest only

4 x wedges Brie or Vignotte cheese (I have also used Camembert)

Vegetable oil, for frying (I used olive oil)

Directions

For the chutney, heat the oil in large saucepan and fry the onion and chilli for 4-5 minutes, or until softened.

Add the sugar, vinegar, cranberries, seasoning and cloves. Bring the mixture to the boil and cook for a further 15 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened.

Meanwhile, for the deep-fried Brie, sprinkle the flour onto a plate and beat the eggs in a bowl. Mix the polenta and lime zest together on a separate plate.

Dredge the Brie pieces first in the flour, then dip them in the egg, then coat them in the polenta mixture.

Heat the oil in a deep heavy-based frying pan until a breadcrumb sizzles and turns brown when dropped into it. Alternatively, use an electric deep-fat fryer heated to 180C/350F. (CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)

Deep-fry the coated Brie pieces for 4-5 minutes, or until golden-brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove the Brie from the pan and set aside to drain on kitchen paper.

Serve the deep-fried Brie piled onto small plates with the chutney in ramekins alongside.

Enjoy!

Fried Halloumi Cheese in Pita with Hummus, Salad a...

Up until a few short years ago I had never even heard of halloumi cheese. For those that know me this may seem strange as I absolutely LOVE cheese. Stilton, Brie, Shropshire Blue, Cornish Yarg, Caerphilly, Roquefort, Mozzarella, Caboc, Gruyere, Double Gloucester, Coeur de Chevre – the list goes on and on and on.

So how I had missed out on halloumi cheese for so long I will never know. Fortunately a good friend invited me over for lunch and she served a mixed leaf and cherry tomato salad with pieces of grilled halloumi on top. It was delicious and I quickly came to the realization that I had been missing out on something quite wonderful!

Halloumi is a semi soft cheese made with a mixture of sheep and goats milk. There are some manufacturers who are bringing cows milk into the process as it is cheaper to produce and it creates a milder flavour. This is not true halloumi however and many argue that you can really only get authentic halloumi in Cyprus. As of the 1990’s the USA has registered halloumi as a protected Cypriot product but it still has not achieved this status within the EU. The question of whether cow’s milk should be allowed in the process is at the heart of this debate.

While it is traditionally associated with Cypriot cuisine it’s also very popular in Greece as well as the Middle East. Halloumi has a strong salty flavour and a firm texture. It comes packaged in brine with mint which acts as an anti-bacterial ingredient – giving it a long shelf life. Although it can be eaten ‘raw’ (directly out of the packet) it is much tastier when grilled or fried.

If you have never tried halloumi cheese then I highly recommend putting it on your list of ingredients to try!

Luna Raye’s Fried Halloumi in Pita with Hummus, Salad and Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 250 g of Halloumi cheese sliced

• Handful of fresh salad leaves

• Handful of cherry tomatoes quartered

• 1-2 Tablespoons of fresh mint leaves chopped (optional but really tasty)

• 2-3 Tbsp of flour seasoned with freshly ground black pepper

• 1-2 Tbsp olive oil

• 2-3 Tbsp of hummus

• Pita Bread (this recipe can make 4 sandwiches easily)

Directions

• Heat oil in a frying pan

• Coat the halloumi slices in the flour and place them in the heated oil

• Let the slices cook on one side for approx 2-3 minutes. Don’t have the heat too high

• When the slices are a golden brown colour on one side flip them over

• Toast pita breads (I like to allow mine to cool a little before cutting them open because they get HOT! If I had a penny for every time I was burned by hot pita bread I would be very rich indeed!)

• When halloumi is golden on both sides remove from pan and allow excess oil to drain off by placing on paper towel

• When pita is safe to cut into – go for it! Spread hummus on the inside and place a few leaves and tomatoes at the bottom.

• Add 2-3 slices of the halloumi and top up with a bit more hummus, salad and tomatoes

Enjoy!

Warning these sandwiches are highly addictive.

Halloumi cheese coated in seasoned flour and fried

Halloumi in pita with hummus, salad and cherry tomatoes