Baked camembert platter

Ingredients

• 1 small crusty round loaf of bread
• 1 200 g camembert round
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 2 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
• 3 tsp (15 ml) olive oil
• 3 tsp (15 ml) Irish honey
• Other cheese, such as blue, goat’s cheese and cheddar (about 450 g in total)
• 120 g chorizo
• 100 g prosciutto
• 100 g green olives
• 2-3 fresh figs, cut into pieces
• Assorted crackers, to serve

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
2. Using a sharp knife cut a hole in the centre of the loaf just big enough to fit in the cheese then slice the loaf into 1.2 cm (1 inch) pieces in a criss cross pattern making sure you don’t cut all the way through. Remove the cheese from its packaging, place into the hole in the loaf and then onto a tray lined with parchment paper.
3. Use a sharp knife to make 1cm incisions into the top of the camembert to form a criss-cross pattern. Tear apart the excess bread from the centre of the loaf and scatter it around the loaf on the tray. In a small bowl combine the garlic, rosemary, olive oil and honey and then drizzle over the loaf, cheese and chunks of bread. Place in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is soft.
4. Place baked camembert loaf in the centre of a large platter along with the toasted pieces from the centre and arrange the remaining ingredients around this. Serve straight away.

Note

• Use any combination of cheeses you like; as an example, Donal used 150 g Young Buck blue, 120 g St Tola crottin goat’s cheese and 150 g Knockdrinna gold cheese.