Yesterday baked brie was on the menu for a private event at The Quail & Olive. I have wrapped brie in puff pastry many times before, but Anni suggested phyllo dough.
When Anni mentioned using phyllo dough, I was inspired by the look of the Tourtière Landaise, a dessert from France. The crust of this striking dessert—named for Les Landes, the region where it is beloved and ubiquitous—curls up into jagged shards as it cooks, like a crown. Here's the inspiration from when I made that apple dessert a couple of years ago.
You can swap in any kind of rind cheese; you can use any other fruit compote and any kind of dried or candied fruit. Really! It's that simple.
Ingredients
1 round of brie (mine was just over 1 pound)
1/3 to 1/2 cup blueberry jam or compote
1 to 2 Tablespoons candied citron
8 Tablespoons butter
12 sheets of phyllo dough, or more if needed
fresh organic rosemary, destemmed
Also needed: a brush, a tart pan with removable sides and bottom
Procedure
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low to medium heat. Keep an eye on it so that it doesn't brown or burn.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove melted butter from heat. Grease your pan.
Using a pastry brush, brush one sheet of phyllo with the melted butter and place it in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle in a few needles of rosemary. Repeat with three more sheets so that the bottom has four layers over it.
Place the cheese in the center of the pan. Spoon the blueberry jam on top of the round. Sprinkle with candied citron and more rosemary. Pull the phyllo up and around to enclose the top of the cheese. If you need to add additional sheets to completely cover the cheese, do that.
If not, brush the rest of the sheets and crumple them into loose balls. Place them on top of the pie. Drizzle with more butter then bake until the phyllo is golden brown, approximately 40 to 45 minutes.
Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before moving the wrapped cheese to a serving platter. Top with a few more rosemary needles. Serve this with crackers or sliced baguette.
I used this as a center of an appetizer tray and included olives, Savory Chevre Truffles, and salami rosettes. I'm so glad that Anni asked me to use phyllo dough instead of puff pastry. I will definitely be making this again soon.
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