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22.12.2014

1 ratings, avg : 5.00
4-6

A festive cheesy starter for your holiday menu, with glorious melted brie, kasseri and cream cheese, lying on a bed of deeply caramelised onions with balsamic vinegar.

There is not much I can say about this dish. Dipping a knife in, lifting a blob of gooey melted cheese, making sure some luscious caramelised onions come along for the ride, smothering a cracker with this golden blob, and popping it in your mouth in one bite. Are you imagining it? I have some in the fridge and it’s proving difficult to keep away from it, even though it’s ten in the morning. But also, it’s easy, and can be prepared a couple of days ahead, leaving only the baking for the last minute before serving. Convenient? Yes. And the caramelised onions can easily be replaced with a store-bought onion chutney if you are really pressed for time. At some point I think I’m going to try it with jam.

Grab a cracker.

Ingredients

For the caramelised onions

1 1/2 medium sized onions, or 1 large, sliced in half moons or rings

1 Tbs butter

1/2 tsp brown sugar

1 Tbs balsamic vinegar

1/8 tsp salt

For the melted cheese

200 gr brie, rind removed, roughly chopped

100 gr Greek kasseri cheese, chopped in small pieces (or use a gruyere if you can’t get kasseri)

100 gr cream cheese

2 Tbs parmesan, grated

2 Tbs cream

2 tsp corn flour

1/8 tsp thyme, dried

1/8 tsp white pepper

Step 1

To caramelise the onions (can be done 2-3 days ahead). Heat a non-stick frying pan on medium. When hot add the butter, and when melted add the onions. Stir to coat and leave alone on medium low heat (mine was on number 3 out of 9 on the dial). Let the onions cook stirring once in a while, for about 50 minutes. Halfway through you might need to lower the heat a little (I turned to 2 of 9). After 50 minutes the onions will the soft and jammy. Add the sugar, stir, add the balsamic and salt, and stir till the liquid evaporates (about 3 more minutes). Set aside to cool in the pan.

Step 2

Combine the brie, kasseri, cream cheese, one tablespoon of parmesan, the cream, corn flour, thyme and pepper in a blender or food processor and blitz till smooth.

Step 3

Spread the caramelised onions in a small baking dish (15cm diameter) and top with the cheese mixture. Smooth with a spatula and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan. Now you can cover with cling film (plastic wrap) and keep in the fridge for a couple of days till ready to bake and serve.

Step 4

Preheat oven to 140C fan (150C conventional) and bake in the middle for 25 minutes (or until hot and slightly bubbly). Switch to the grill (broiler), lift the rack to a higher position and leave for another 2 minutes till golden. Serve hot with crackers or thinly sliced crusty bread.

Recipe adapted from the BBC Good Food magazine.

1 ratings, avg : 5.00

So, what do you think? Leave me a comment!

3 Comments

  • Reply
    12/01/2015

    All that melted cheese is seriously making my mouth water.. this dip looks SO delicious.

  • Reply
    23/04/2018

    There’s nothing to say about this dish. Just dip your spoon and have a bite of this cheese starter. This taste so delicious.