Brie with Brûléed Pears, Balsamic Honey & Spiced Pecans

Nothing speaks holiday party quite like a round of brie or camembert, with a jammy topping and served oozing deliciousness!

This fresh take on the holiday classic features thinly sliced pear given the brûléed treatment, break out the kitchen blow torch, sprinkle on layers of sugar and slow caramelize that sugar to create a lovely ‘burnt’ sugar topping.

Don’t have a kitchen blow torch? The oven broiler will work just fine, watched carefully!

The next component is a the spiced nuts, these are a staple in my kitchen and a fabulous topping to salads. A simple topping of toasted salted crushed nuts will work too!

And lastly, the honey balsamic drizzle, delicious in this home made version, store bought balsamic drizzle will work too.

What goes better with cheese than wine? Clean crafted for me of course, my recommendation with this dish is a fruit forward Grenache and Syrah blend from France, cheers!

Enjoy!

Chef Carol

Brie with Brûléed Pears, Balsamic Honey & Spiced Pecans

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• Author: Carol Green
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 12 1x

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Description

A round of brie is dressed up with brûléed pears, spiced nuts and drizzled with balsamic honey for an elegant touch. If you don’t have a small torch, the pears can be broiled with the sugar in the oven for a few minutes and transferred to the Brie.

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

SPICED NUT INGREDIENTS

1          cup Pecans, rough chopped

½         cup Sliced Almonds

¼         cup Raw Pumpkin Seeds

¼         cup Raw Sunflower Seeds

2–3       tablespoons Honey

1          tsp. Savory Spice Za-atar Seasoning

1          tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice

2          tsp. Sea Salt

BALSAMIC HONEY INGREDIENTS

2    cups Balsamic Vinegar

½   cup Honey

½   tsp. Salt

MAIN DISH INGREDIENTS:

1          8oz Camembert Round

1          ripe Pear

1          Tbsp. Lemon Juice

2–3       Tbsp. Superfine Granulated Sugar

3–4       Tbsp. Balsamic Honey

¼         cup Spiced Nuts

            Pinch salt

Special equipment, Brule torch

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Instructions

• Prepare the Spiced Nuts:
• Preheat oven to 350F, and prepare a large sheet pan with parchment paper
• Place the nuts and seeds on the sheet, and drizzle with the honey.
• Place in the oven for a few minutes to melt the honey, remove from the oven and sprinkle over the spices and salt evenly over.
• Bake for 8 minutes, take out and stir
• Bake for an addition 5 to 6 minutes until toasted and fragrant.

 

• Prepare the Balsamic Honey:
• Place the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan and cook until the liquid is evaporated by half, stir in the honey and salt, allow to cool.
• Transfer to a squeeze bottle or jar.

 

• Assemble the dish:
• Scrape off the top ‘bloom’ off the brie and place on a platter.
• Cut the pear into thin slices, remove the core and dress lightly with lemon juice to prevent browning.
• Fan the pears decoratively across the top of the brie.
• Sprinkle with a little of the sugar and torch the sugar moving the torch back in forth, working in layers adding more sugar until a caramelized crust is achieved.
• Sprinkle a generous layer of the spiced nuts, and drizzle liberally with the balsamic drizzle.
• Serve with crackers or crusty artisanal bread and enjoy!

Notes

Special equipment, Brule torch

• Category: Appetizer

Keywords: Brie with pear and spiced nuts, holiday brie, appetizer