Sweet and spicy jam helps cut through the ooey, gooey, cheesy richness of baked camembert and the crispy but creamy rosemary potatoes are the perfect vessel for them both. This dish can get messy, so putting a few small plates and some spoons out for guests to enjoy it is a good shout.
Serves 6-8
Prep time: 1 hour, including making the jam
Cooking time: 1 hour 20 for the camembert potato bake
INGREDIENTS
For the cranberry chilli jam:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 red chillies, finely sliced, seeds removed (optional)
250g fresh or frozen cranberries
50g caster sugar
50g light brown sugar
30ml red wine vinegar
40ml water
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1.5kg even-sized fluffy potatoes (Maris Piper would work well for this)
1 tablespoon butter for greasing the dish
250ml double cream
125ml milk
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 sprigs rosemary
2 tablespoons olive oil
250g camembert
METHOD
To make the cranberry chilli jam, heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium-low heat. Add the ginger and chillies and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the chillies have softened. Add in the cranberries, sugars, red wine vinegar and water and season. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring and mashing often, until the cranberries have turned jammy and everything is combined and thickened. Spoon into a sterilised jar. Best eaten within a week.
To make the rosemary and camembert potato bake, preheat your oven to 180°C, 160°C fan, gas mark 4 and give the potatoes a scrub.
Using a mandoline, or sharp knife, slice the potatoes into very thin rounds. Grease a roughly 26cm round oven dish lightly with butter, then start placing the potatoes around the sides, overlapping them slightly as you go. Keep going, working your way into the centre of the dish. When you have a space roughly the size of your camembert left, place a similar size ovenproof dish, or ball of foil in its place. This will stop the potatoes from collapsing and make sure you still have room to place the camembert in the centre once ready. Tuck any remaining potato slices into any gaps you can see.
Pour the cream and milk over the potatoes and season well. Nestle the rosemary sprigs in between the potatoes, drizzle over a tablespoon of olive oil and bake for 1 hour, or until the potatoes are tender.
Remove the small dish or ball of foil and baste the potatoes with the cream mixture. Place camembert down in the centre (remove any packaging), cut a cross in the middle and drizzle the potatoes with the remaining olive oil. Increase the oven temperature to 200°C, 180°C fan, gas mark 6 and up and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is gloriously melted and gooey.
Spoon over some of the cranberry chilli jam and serve with the rest in a dish on the side.
Recipe from www.seasonalspuds.com