Here’s your permission to eat a whole wheel of cheese for dinner.
Baked bloomy-rind cheeses such as Brie and Camembert are a retro appetizer that never really went out of style, especially around the holidays. But why reserve all that gooey luxury for festivities when you can turn it into a cozy winter meal? The key is to bring a little balance to the situation. Here, it’s a warm red cabbage slaw. In keeping with the retro vibes, the cheese is piled with sun-dried tomatoes that are tossed with honey, balsamic, and herbs before it’s baked. Serve the melty wheel in the center of a platter surrounded by the slaw, and let everyone scoop up generous portions of both.
While a standard wheel of Brie will do just fine, I do think this salad deserves special treatment, given that it’s a bit indulgent. Harbison is a bloomy-rind cheese from Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont that I am mildly obsessed with. It’s shamelessly creamy, a bit stinky (in a good way), and both sweet and vegetal, making it much more complex than your average grocery store wheel. Look for it at your local specialty cheese shop, Whole Foods, or on the Jasper Hill website, and treat yourself to a mixed box of cheeses.
Seared Slaw with Honey and Sun-Dried Tomato Baked Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 small or 1/2 medium head red cabbage tough outer leaves removed
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 1/3 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes drained, patted dry, and coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon honey plus more for serving
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves
- 2 tablespoons plus
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar divided
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup loosely packed chopped fresh parsley
- 2 scallions white and green parts, thinly sliced
- 1 8- to 9- ounce wheel bloomy-rind cheese Try Jasper Hill Harbison
Instructions
- Arrange a rack in middle of oven and heat oven to 300°F. Line a small, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Quarter cabbage and season wedges all over with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large castiron or other heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.
- Place 2 cabbage wedges cut side down in pan and cook, undisturbed, until well charred on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Carefully flip and cook until the other cut side is well-charred, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a cutting board to cool slightly. Repeat with 1 tablespoon olive oil and the remaining 2 wedges.
- Combine sun-dried tomatoes, honey, oregano, 1 teaspoon vinegar, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, 1 tablespoon olive oil, a generous pinch of salt, and several grinds of black pepper in a large bowl.
- Core cabbage wedges, thinly slice wedges crosswise and add to bowl of dressing. Add parsley and scallions and toss to coat in vinaigrette. Taste and season with additional salt and black pepper as needed. Set aside.
- If using a wheel of Harbison, remove spruce bark wrap. Place cheese on prepared baking sheet and spoon sun-dried tomato mixture on top (it’s OK if some falls over the edges). Bake until cheese is still intact, but soft and melty, about 5 to 10 minutes. (Keep a close eye on it. It can go from soft to totally collapsed quickly.)
- Carefully transfer the baked cheese wheel and any sun-dried tomatoes that have fallen onto the baking sheet to the center of a serving platter with a wide spatula. Pile slaw around cheese and drizzle with a bit more honey. Serve with a big spoon.
Sheela Prakash
Sheela Prakash is a food and wine writer, recipe developer, and the author of two cookbooks and is the Senior Contributing Editor at Kitchn.
