--- Watch 8:30pm Wednesdays on SBS Food and expect some cheesy whispers to come to life. Catch-up on and visit the for recipes, videos and more ---
Cheese is serious business.
And with so many delicious varieties, how does one choose - or more importantly, why do you have to? Over here at Food HQ, we've got a craving for the fatty, creamy, mildly-flavoured soft cheese selection and while the answer to a wicked cheese board is always a resounding 'yes!' over these parts, here are a few other stats that tell you why camembert is our MVP, this week.
Crumb it
Cut 3 x 200g camembert cheese into 1/8 wedges and dip into 1 cup of plain flour. Beat 1 egg with a ½ cup of milk and dip each piece in the mixture, then into breadcrumbs and let stand for about 10 minutes. Dip into the egg mixture and breadcrumbs again. Place 140 g of marmalade and a ⅔ cup of chardonnay into a pan and bring to the boil. Heat some extra virgin olive oil then shallow fry the cheese and top with the marmalade sauce.
Marinate it
To ensure your canapés are full of flavour, combine two great loves - cheese and wine. Simply marinating your camembert in wine overnight will give you exciting bitesize alternatives to cheese and crackers. Place 500g of camembert and 500ml (2 cups) of dry white wine in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Drain the cheese and discard wine. Remove and discard the rind, then roughly chop the cheese. In a food processor, combine the cheese with 70g of unsalted butter and 1 tbsp of cognac, until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes or until cheese is slightly firm. Using damp hands, roll teaspoonfuls of cheese into balls, scatter with 1 tsp of paprika, then roll in flaked almonds. Refrigerate until needed. Serve cheese balls on a plate with parsley, biscuits and a .
file:2149_waldorfsaladcheeseballs-0089.jpg
Cob it
Take a round bread (cob) loaf, slice off the top, hollow it out, replace the bread with sliced pieces of camembert (minus the rind), fresh herbs, chutney, relish, chilli - take your flavour pick. Place the loaf on a baking tray, slice your top piece of bread into 3-4 cm strips, spread with garlic butter or olive oil and bake in a 180°C fan-forced oven for or 10-15 minutes. Season and spice to taste, then all you have to do is get dipping!
Centre it
Meat and cheese are more than just acquaintances, they've formed quite the partnership when it comes to so many favourites - ham and cheese toasties, pizza toppings galore, stringy nachos and charred kebabs to name a few to get you salivating. But it's the cheesy surprise that wins hearts and buds far and wide - and a piece of cheesy goodness is at the core of this frikkadel. Throw your own frikkadel shindig and get this
Frikkadels stuffed with camembert Source: Peter Kuruvita's Coastal Kitchen
Wrap it
In puff pastry! Lay a sheet of puff pastry down, spread some fig or cranberry jam, place your camembert (whole) in the centre and secure it tightly with the pastry. Brush with an egg yolk, sprinkle some cinnamon sugar or crushed nuts over the top and bake for 20-30 minutes until the pastry is nice and golden. #micdrop
Bake it whole
No need to slice it here, we're embracing the whole wheel.
Preheat an oven to 200°C. You can bake it in the wooden box (of course, removing all the plastic) and if it didn't come in a box then place it in a small baking dish and then on a baking paper-lined tray. Score the top of the cheese and it is here you can wedge in sprigs of rosemary or thyme and cloves of garlic, but you can also leave it as is. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 10 minutes, or until the centre is gooey and the cheese has melted. Serve with a little honey, crunchy bread and fresh figs.
Spoon it
Place your big softy in a ramekin, drizzle with honey and bake at 200 degrees until cheese is bubbly and golden on top. Top with fresh figs or dried dates and own the big spoon.
And if you really love it when your sweet and savoury worlds collide then the big softie serves it up big time at this cheesecake bakehouse - it might just be your pot of gold.