YIELDS:
4 servings
PREP TIME:
0 hours 5 mins
COOK TIME:
0 hours 25 mins
TOTAL TIME:
0 hours 30 mins
ingredients
1 Small wheel of Brie
1 Tbsp. Honey
1 Tbsp. Brown sugar
2 Tbsp. Walnuts, chopped and toasted
1/2 Tsp. Kosher salt
2 Tsp. Momofuku Chili Crunch
1 Tbsp. Chopped chives
1 Tbsp. Pomegranate Seeds
1 Baguette, sliced and toasted
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the unwrapped wheel of brie in a small cast iron skillet
3. Mix the honey, sugar, nuts and salt in a small bowl. Spread the cheese with the Momofuku crunch then top with the nut mixture.
4. Bake the cheese for about 20 minutes until warm and gooey on the inside. Sprinkle with fresh chives and pomegranate seeds and serve right in the skillet along with the sliced toasted bread. Dig in!
NOTES: Everyone loves warm, ooey-gooey brie. And everyone has his or her own toppings that they serve on their baked brie. I’ve seen jams, nuts, spreads, herbs, sauteed onions, cranberry sauce and more. This year I saw a lot of hype on this new product: chili crunch. It is a chili oil that has sesame seeds and chili flakes in it and can be used as a spread. It can be mild to extremely hot and it just looked really good. In particular, Momofuku Chili Crunch has been promoting it everywhere and I thought I’d give it a try. Full disclosure: I’m not a huge fan of a lot of heat. I like the flavors and a mild tingle but really don’t like to be blown out of the water. But, I also loved the idea of a little crunch in the sauce (great marketing, guys!) so I bought a jar and went to work “playing” in the kitchen. This is one of my first successful attempts at mixing hot and sweet with a little salty and crunchy. The mix just worked when piled on warm, luxious brie. Need I say more? LOVED IT! It wasn’t too spicy at all when it was mixed with the sweetness of the honey and brown sugar. It combined together for the perfect bite.
I made it in a mini cast iron skillet and presented it right on the table for my guests to enjoy. The one round of brie was devoured by four as a first course. If this was on a buffet, I can’t promise it would last long…you might want to make a couple! Otherwise, try my individual Brie Bites for larger gatherings. I used a different topping in that recipe but mini individual servings are fun. You certainly could use this topping on them too. I served this baked brie with slices of a toasted baguette but crackers would also work. Give my new spicy and sweet version a try…so far, two thumbs up on the momofuku.
If you like the spice, check out my other recipes using this condiment in My Four Favorite Recipes using Momofuku.
