How to feed a man? Cheese all the way

[ How to be a Man ]

It’s a little cliched to presume that men’s favourite food is meat. Yet steak is usually what springs to mind when it’s time to treat your loved one to his favourite dinner.

We are led to believe that until the discovery of fire, men survived on nuts and berries, but once they got the barbecue going, they then thrived on meat and began walking upright, designing wheels and so on.

I beg to differ. The men in my life all have one thing in common: they love cheese.

No matter how huge dinner is, there will always be room for cheese. Before I have dinner on the table, a slab of cheese is usually being hacked away at silently by my husband or sons. On countless occasions the Brie has been demolished or the Gouda gobbled without me ever getting to taste a bit.

So this is my baked Camembert to make for those men in your life.

But this is no regular baked cheese. This Camembert is infused with honey and rosemary and baked with lightly spiced maple-roasted pecan nuts. Quite the mouthful.

For a real feast, serve this delicious baked cheese with a sparkling white wine, Champagne or Chardonnay.

In Switzerland, when we had fondue, they served it with generous amounts of schnapps, just to cut through the immense amount of cheese we were enjoying.

No need to go full-on fondue here, just throw some crackers and grapes on a plate and bake the cheese. Simple, yet delicious. Foods of Athenry’s baked soda bread slices are double-baked, like Italian biscotti, so they’re crunchy like crackers and perfect for scooping up molten cheese.

My brother adores cheese – the stronger the smell, the better he likes it. He lived in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia for a while and used to smuggle cheese back with him.

I’m sure the flight attendants used to dread seeing him coming with his precious but reeking cargo. Buy Camembert when you know you’ll be using it soon, and double- or triple-wrap it in Ziploc bags, or your fridge will truly pong.

BAKED CAMEMBERT WITH MAPLE ROASTED PECANS

The ingredients
1 Camembert cheese, in wooden box
1tbs honey
Sea salt
3 sprigs rosemary
1tbs maple syrup
1tbs butter
100g pecan nuts
1tsp sugar
Generous pinch of ground cinnamon

To serve
Grapes
Figs
Crackers

Method
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Remove any plastic wrapping from the cheese and line the wooden box with a square of baking parchment. Sit the cheese back into the box. Sit the box on a baking tray and drizzle the honey over it.

Pierce the centre of the cheese with a few sprigs of rosemary and scatter with sea salt. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the cheese is completely melted inside. The crust will hold it together but it should begin to ooze out the sides.

While the cheese cooks, prepare the nuts. Line a baking tray with baking paper and mix the cinnamon with the sugar in a little bowl. Melt the butter with the maple syrup. Coat the pecan nuts with the butter syrup mixture. Once evenly coated, tip the nuts on to the baking tray. Roast for five to eight minutes, keeping an eye that they don’t burn. Once browned slightly, remove from the oven and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Set aside to cool and harden.

Place grapes, quartered figs, crackers and the nuts on to a large plate or wooden board. Once the cheese is cooked, place a few pecans on top and sit the wooden cheese box on to the plate. Serve right away.

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