An Elegant Appetizer fit for Royalty

If you love Brie cheese, Phyllo pastry and raspberries, then this is an appetizer for you.

Brie in Phyllo with Raspberry Sauce

Granted, it probably has enough calories to be a meal unto itself, but once in a great while, we all want to splurge . . . just that once. 

Banfi Rosa Regale

I have been making this appetizer, refining as I went along for about 26 years. Countless people have eaten it at our table. It is finicky to make, there are a lot of things that need to be taken into consideration, such as making things ahead and having guests arrive on time! Another, though not 100% necessary, is having a convection oven. There doesn't seem to be any other way to get the phyllo browned before the cheese all melts out. But golden browned or not, it is still absolutely mouth-watering. 

Stella Rosa Black

Wine Pairings

Then there is wine to think about, and I have the perfect one - or two! A whole lot of years ago, my husband and I were at a wine tasting, and they served Banfi's Brachetto d'Acqui with a chocolate sorbet and some fresh raspberries. I am not a chocolate ice cream, gelato or sorbet fan in particular, though I love raspberries. While the wine paired most excellently with the dessert as a whole, it truly picked up the raspberry flavor. After that, it became my de facto wine to serve with this signature elegant appetizer. It pairs so perfectly, there has never been need to try something else. Over the years, Banfi changed the name of this wine to "Rosa Regale." Same wine, same perfect flavor. I only realized more recently that Brachetto is the grape type used to make this wine. 

More recently, I tried a far less expensive wine called Stella Rosa Black. When I tasted it, I was struck immediately by how similar it tasted to Banfi's Rosa Regale! I could barely tell a difference. I urge you to try the Banfi version if possible, but if this is not in budget, then go for the Stella Rosa Black, since it is also made with the Brachetto grape.

Both these wines are slightly sparkling and lightly sweet, though not overwhelmingly. Thankfully, not full-out bubbly, but just a little, just enough. (I hate fizzy anything, really - sorry all you champagne lovers out there. I just do not care for too much bubble and fizz.) I have always served them in champagne flutes, regardless, as it shows off the pretty deep rose color far better than the "tasting glass" shown in the photo above.

Back to my Brie Recipe

Brie in Phyllo with Raspberry Sauce

• Neither my husband nor I particularly care for the rind on the Brie. I cut it all off, but if you are a huge fan of the rind flavor, then leave it on. Being a soft cheese, it is malleable enough to create your own shape, and it will make no difference to the end result. I divide a couple of wedges or so of Brie and cut them to piles of about equal size, then press them into little "pucks." This is the start of things. 

• The next thing is working with Phyllo (Fillo, Filo) pastry. Phyllo is tricky, because the sheets are so thin. This means they tear easily, and also, they dry out so fast it takes having things completely organized before starting. Make sure you have thawed the phyllo in the fridge overnight, or, if you forgot this step, then have it ion the counter to thaw thoroughly for at least 4 or 5 hours, unopened. Once opened, unroll the sheets and keep them covered with a damp towel. It is easiest to work with 2 sheets at a time. Trying to brush melted butter on one sheet at a time is an exercise in an amount of patience that is not my main virtue.

• Melted butter must be brushed over as much of the surface as possible without tearing the phyllo sheets, most particularly for this recipe, because you don't want to start out at a disadvantage. The cheese will leak out during baking, no matter what I have tried. Placing the cheese into already torn phyllo is begging trouble. 

• Long ago, I started out trying to wrap the phyllo around wedges of Brie, but it leaked so badly that I thought I would try instead making little pouches. They still leak, but less so, now. With the pouches, I tie twine around the top opening, then trim the raggedy top edges a little. Once baked, it is easy to take kitchen shears and snip the twine and remove. After baking, the pouches hold their shape perfectly. 

• The last admonition is to form these pouches a minimum of a day before they will be needed, and up to three weeks. They must be frozen solid before baking, or there will truly be no cheese left inside the pouches. Once the pouches are formed, brush more butter all over the outside, including the bottoms and the ends that stick up above the twine. Then, use cooking spray on a baking sheet and set them onto the sheet. Freeze the pouches uncovered, then as soon as they are frozen stiff, remove them to little sandwich bags, one to a bag. I prefer the old-fashioned flap-fold type, because they are softer and easy to slip over the pouches. Set the wrapped pouches into a container with lid, big enough to avoid crushing the pouches. Replace in the freezer until ready to bake.

On the day you will serve the Brie Pouches, you will make the raspberry sauce. When I made this sauce the first time, I wanted something not so over-the-top-sweet that it would ruin any cheese flavor. What I compromised with is making a cup worth of brown gravy (if you have no beef stock on hand, use a beef bouillon cube or, some beef demi-glace with water) then adding in some raspberry preserves to melt in. I use preserves with the seeds, then strain them out. When the stores started selling raspberry jam with no seeds, I tried using that, but for some reason, the flavor and color are both so off, that I went back to raspberry preserves with the seeds and straining them out. To rescue the sauce the one time I used seedless jam, I added a couple of drops of red food coloring. Another hint is to add in a small amount of red wine to the sauce. This gives a depth to the flavors, and a little color. Dry red wine also brings down the sweetness level just a little bit more.

The recipe:

Brie in Phyllo with Raspberry Sauce

Brie in Phyllo with Raspberry Sauce

Serves 4

BRIE POUCHES:
12 ounces good quality Brie cheese
8 phyllo sheets
1 stick (4-ounces) unsalted butter, melted
- pastry brush
4 (10-inch) lengths cotton twine

RASPBERRY SAUCE:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup beef stock
¾ (of a 12-ounce jar) raspberry jam with seeds
2 - 3 tablespoon dry red wine
- few drops red food coloring, optional
- mint sprigs for garnish

At least one day ahead, or up to 3 weeks ahead, prepare the Brie pouches:

Place the box of phyllo in the refrigerator overnight to thaw, or - four to five hours before working with the phyllo, remove from freezer and allow to thaw at room temperature.

Meanwhile, remove the wrappers from the Brie wedges and with a very sharp knife remove as much of the rind as possible. As the cheese is malleable, divide up the wedges into 4 equal portions and mold the portions (even if there are bits of smaller pieces) into round, flat “pucks,” 3 - 4-inches diameter. Cover these and set them aside.

Set the butter to melt over very low heat. Have a baking sheet ready, sprayed with cooking spray. Have the cotton twine at hand. Remove the wrapper from one pouch of the phyllo dough, unroll the dough and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Do not leave uncovered as the pastry will dry out very quickly and be unusable. Clear a surface and remove two sheets of the phyllo and set them on the work space. Re-cover the remainder of the phyllo while working with the two sheets. Trim the phyllo sheets to a square and discard the leftover edge. Quickly, brush melted butter over the surface and set one of the Brie “pucks” into the center of the square. Trim the corners of the square so it is now a circle. Bring up all the edges of the phyllo to encase the Brie, creating a little pouch. Press the top where it covers the Brie and then tie one of the pieces of twine around this neck (gently, to avoid tearing) to keep it in place. Brush all the outside of the pouch, including the bottom, with the melted butter. Set this pouch on the prepared baking sheet and repeat this whole process with the remaining three pieces of cheese, setting each on the baking sheet when finished. Set the sheet, uncovered, into the freezer.

If keeping the pouches frozen for more than one day, remove each frozen pouch from the sheet and carefully place them into individual sandwich baggies. Set the wrapped pouches into a sealed container, large enough so as not to crush the pouches, in the freezer until needed.

On Serving Day, make the Raspberry Sauce. This can be done earlier in the day.

In a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and add in the flour. Stir to combine, then add in the beef stock and whisk continuously until the mixture thickens slightly and boils, then whisk occasionally, allowing the mixture to cook out the raw flour taste, 3 to 5 minutes. Add in 1 cup of the raspberry jam and stir until melted. Pour the mixture into a sieve over a bowl and using the back of a spoon, scrape the liquids through until the seeds in the sieve are mainly dry. Discard the seeds. It may seem counter-intuitive to use jam with seeds, but having tried this with seedless jam, I can say the flavor is not the same! Add in the wine and red food coloring, if using. The color is brighter with food coloring, but it is not necessary. Cook the sauce a bit longer to cook out the wine’s alcohol, then set aside. If making earlier in the day, place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the sauce, so it will not form a skin.

Before proceeding with baking the Brie pouches, make sure your guests are all present.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. It is best if you are using convection heat, as it helps to brown the phyllo, which can otherwise stay quite white. Some ovens automatically set themselves to 25 degrees less when choosing convection bake, but some require you to set the temperature to 25 degrees less when choosing convection. Remove the plastic wrap from the Raspberry Sauce and reheat while the Brie pouches bake. 
 
Carefully unwrap the Brie pouches and set them onto a rimmed baking sheet. Bake the pouches for 15 to 20 minutes. Do not be too alarmed when one or more of the pouches begin to ooze cheese. Hopefully, most will stay in. I have made these countless times and there always is at least one that leaks, sometimes badly (that one is always mine). They are still good.

Prepare serving plates. Use a salad sized plate, preferably with a little well and rim. Ladle some of the Raspberry Sauce onto the plate, then using a spatula, slide one of the pouches into the center of the sauce. Repeat with the other plates. Garnish each plate with a little mint sprig and serve immediately.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.