Deep-Fried Cheese with Sweet & Sour Berry Sauce
This dish has a great contrast between sweet and salty, a hallmark of Swedish cooking. Chef Stefan Karlsson uses nutty, semisoft goat’s milk cheese for this recipe, but Camembert makes an excellent and tasty substitution.
Ingredients
BERRY SAUCE
- 4½ cups mixed berries fresh or frozen such as raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, or red currants
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
FRIED CHEESE
- ½ cup cold water
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup flour
- 1¼ cups panko breadcrumbs
- Sunflower oil for frying
- 4 3.5- ounce rectangular blocks of Camembert cut and shaped from 8-ounce rounds
- 7 ounces parsley leaves separated
- Salt
Instructions
BERRY SAUCE
- Puree 2½ cups of the berries with 2 tablespoons sugar in a blender. Add remaining ½ cup sugar to a clean, dry saucepan set over medium heat, and stir as it melts slowly to form a golden caramel. Carefully stir in puree, and simmer until sugar dissolves. Add raspberry vinegar, and remove from heat. Fold in remaining 2 cups of berries. Keep warm until serving.
FRIED CHEESE
- Whisk together water and eggs in a small bowl. Pour flour and panko onto two separate plates. Heat oil to 340°F. Coat each piece of cheese with flour. Dip cheese fully in egg mixture, then coat completely with panko. Fry until crispy and golden, about 2 minutes (time will vary depending on how cold the cheese is when you add to the oil). Transfer cheese to a serving plate. Add parsley leaves to oil for a few seconds, until crispy. Place leaves on a paper towel, and sprinkle lightly with salt. Spoon berry sauce over cheese, and garnish with parsley.
Chef Stefan Karlsson
A proud steward of his native cuisine, chef Stefan Karlsson creates innovative dishes using Swedish cheese.
Kristine Jannuzzi
Food and travel writer Kristine Jannuzzi (aka @nyccheesechick) fell for formaggio the first time she tasted Pecorino Toscano in Florence some 20 years ago. She has been a frequent Culture contributor since 2013, and her work has also been published in La Cucina Italiana, Italy Magazine, and British Heritage Travel, among others. A bilingual dual American and Italian citizen, Kristine currently hosts private cheese tastings and visits to cheesemakers in Tuscany.
Photographer Sonja Dahlgren
Sonja Dahlgren is a freelance photographer specialized in food (styling+photography), lifestyle, garden, and interior photography. She also writes the blog Dagmar’s Kitchen.
