Baked Brie with Caramelized Pears, Shallots, and Thyme
Brie baked in a sourdough bread bowl with caramelized pears, shallots, and thyme. A simple yet elegant appetizer or light meal.
Brie baked in a sourdough bread bowl with caramelized pears, shallots, and thyme. A simple yet elegant appetizer or light meal.
- Carbohydrate 33.7735905212126 g
- Cholesterol 32.1628906266351 mg
- Fat 15.071690159686 g
- Fiber 2.8868999724126 g
- Protein 11.6465667199648 g
- Saturated Fat 6.24266812560332 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (127g)
- Sodium 473.11923828553 mg
- Sugar 30.8866905488 g
- Trans Fat 2.64923078144865 g
- Calories 313 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add shallot; cook and stir for 1 minute to soften. Add thinly sliced pears; cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Pour in white wine, brown sugar, thyme, salt, and pepper; increase heat to medium-high and simmer until the liquid has evaporated, and the pears have lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
- Cut a Brie-sized hole in the top of the sourdough bread to within 1/2-inch of the bottom. Cut the removed bread into pieces for serving, set aside. Score the Brie around it's edge, using a paring knife to cut 1/4-inch deep. Cut in half by looping an 18-inch piece of very thin string, or unflavored dental floss around the scored Brie and pulling the ends in opposite directions.
- Place the bottom half of the Brie, cut-side-up, into the sourdough loaf. Top with 1/2 of the pear mixture and sprinkle with 1/2 of the slivered almonds. Place the remaining brie half on top, spread with remaining pear mixture, and sprinkle with remaining slivered almonds. Place on a baking sheet.
- Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until soft and gooey. Serve with sliced sourdough bread and crackers.
Encase brie in pastry rather than bread, and you have a clear ancestor of French en croûte preparations. This version swaps pastry for a round loaf of sourdough, anchoring rich dairy inside a sturdy crust. Sourdough contains natural lactic acid from fermentation, which cuts through the high fat content of the cheese far better than enriched sandwich breads. Caramelizing sliced pears and shallots in a skillet requires medium-high heat for approximately ten minutes to drive off moisture and concentrate sugars. Simmering the mixture with dry white wine introduces tartaric acid, balancing the natural sweetness of the fruit. Slicing the cheese horizontally using unflavored dental floss yields clean halves without compressing the soft paste. Layering the warm fruit and slivered almonds directly onto the cut surfaces ensures even distribution throughout the interior before baking. Set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake until the interior reaches a thoroughly molten state, roughly 45 minutes. Sturdy crackers and toasted bread chunks serve as structural vehicles for the soft spread, providing necessary textural contrast to the gooey dairy. Adapting this dish for a gluten-free diet requires substituting a certified gluten-free round loaf or serving the molten cheese exclusively with seed crackers. Dairy-free alternatives can replicate the presentation by using a plant-based brie substitute, though cooking times may vary based on fat emulsions in alternative cheeses.
