What’s cooking today: Whole Brie in phyllo with green figs and almonds

Here’s the recipe for that whole Brie studded with green figs that I wrote about here. We got hold of some phyllo pastry and turned it into a party piece to come out at the end of a splendid food, charcuterie and wine affair.

(Serves 14 generously, or more)

Ingredients

1 wheel of Dalewood Fromage Wineland Brie with green fig

4 green figs (preserves)

A handful of almonds, crushed

A drizzling of green fig preserve syrup

7 sheets of phyllo pastry

80 ml butter, melted

1 Tbsp white sesame seeds

Method

Have a damp tea towel ready. Preheat the oven to 200℃. Melt butter in a small pot and have a basting brush to hand.

On a large board, lay out one sheet of phyllo. Drizzle with butter. Lay another sheet on and repeat until you have five layers.

Place the whole cheese in the middle. Pull up the corners of some of the sheets and “stick” them down with a little butter. Turn the cheese by a quarter and repeat. Do this twice more until all of the sheets are piled on top.

Now lift the sheet while your friend or partner places the remaining two sheets down underneath, buttering them in between. Place the cheese on top of this.

Now turn it over, tucking the pastry under as you turn. You will now have the smooth side of phyllo on top, facing you, as in the picture.

Using your fingers, sprinkle some cold water on top. This helps the seeds to stick and also aids the crisping process while the pastry is baking. It’s a secret Greek method when working with phyllo.

Finally, sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.

Bake in the preheated 200℃ oven for 20 minutes. DM/TGIFood

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.