Almond Raspberry Baked Camembert

Do you have friends dropping by and you want to serve something tasty and different, but don’t want to spend a long time prepping or break the bank on fancy appetizers?  Here is a quick and easy recipe for a baked Camembert.

Almond Raspberry Baked Camembert

Ingredients:

1 small        Camembert cheese wheel                      1/2 cup     Baby spinach

2-3 tbsp   Raspberry jam                              1 tsp      Olive oil

2 tbsp       Lightly toasted almonds             a dash of salt & pepper 

various crackers or fresh sliced French baguette

Directions:

1)  place the cheese in an oven-safe dish

2)  spoon the jam on top of the camembert

3) sprinkle the lightly toasted almonds on the jam covered cheese wheel

4) set oven to 375 F

5) put cheese in oven for 10-15 mins until the cheese is softened.  You can check this with a toothpick, poke down through it if it's soft, and gooey, it is done.

6) while the camembert is baking, wilt the spinach by heating up a frying pan on med-high heat then adding 1 tsp olive oil, place spinach in the hot pan, add salt and pepper and stir.  Remove from stove, continue stirring until spinach is wilted.

7) place wilted spinach on a plate and put the baked camembert on top of the spinach

8) serve with sliced baguette or crackers of your choice

You can also use Brie instead of Camembert.  This ooey gooey fancy looking (and sounding) cheese dish is quick, easy to make and uses ingredients that you probably have at home (you might not have the cheese, but it costs about $5) so it is a pretty cost effective appetizer. 

Enjoy!