Is there anything in life more constantly pleasing than cheese? I think not. It's fabulous all year round and there's a million different ways to cook with it. Spring is here now and so it's all about introducing it to fresh herbs, baby vegetables or citrus notes. I've had a blast dreaming up Spring recipes with Le Rustique camembert, which I always love cooking with. I used a ripe one for extra punch (you can get them either mild and young, ripe or mature, depending on the proximity to the sell by date) and paired it with a fresh herb pesto. I do love it mature (<20 days or less before expiry) but it probably wouldn't hold up so well when being deep fried as the younger, more firm stages! I've really enjoyed the results – it would be perfect for a dinner party sharing starter, or snack alongside some really lovely wine
Give the below recipe a go and let me know how you get on!
Panko Fried Le Rustique Camenbert 'Doughnut' with Fresh Herb Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 x Le Rustique Camembert – I'd recommend having either a young or ripe one so that it holds together when frying!
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Plain Flour
- 1 egg
- Vegetable or sunflower oil for frying
For the pesto:
- 1 bunch fresh basil, leaves only
- 50g pine nuts
- 50g grated Parmesan
- 2 cloves garlic
- Olive oil
Method
- Prepare the cheese. Pop the cheese in the freezer for 20 minutes to firm it up. After this, cut a 1 inch diameter circle in the middle to make it doughnut shaped. Pop it back in the freezer after this to chill it further – this stops it exploding and melting when you deep fry it!
- Start off with making the pesto. Toast the pine nuts in a dry, hot frying pan until lightly toasted and golden all over.
- Pop everything except the olive oil in a blender and blitz until broken down but not super smooth; you want to retain a bit of texture. Add the olive oil last, and add enough so that it's a loose paste.
- Back to the cheese! Start getting the oil hot. Test when it's ready by dropping a panko breadcrumb into it – it should immediately sizzle and brown within 20 seconds or so.
- Take 3 bowls and add to each respectively, plain flour, beaten egg and the panko breadcrumbs. Take the cheese and coat it first in the flour – it's a bit fiddly but make sure that with each 3 coatings you get everything thoroughly covered and even down the hole! Next coat it in the egg, and finish with the panko breadcrumbs.
- Deep fry the cheese 'doughnut' in the oil until it is crispy and golden brown all over. This should take about 2 minutes and you'll need to turn it once half way – very gently!
- Serve with the pesto!
For more recipes like this (not by me but equally yummy!) head to www.lerustique.uk/recipes !
This post was sponsored by Le Rustique.
