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!
