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.

Scale

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

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