French Bread with Brie Drizzled with Fig Balsamic Reduction

 

Prep time: 2 minutes if you have the reduction. +15 minutes if you need to make the reduction (which you can make ahead).

Needed for This Recipe:

Sunshine Coast Olive Oil Co. Aged Black Mission Fig Dark Balsamic

Ingredients:

Sunshine Coast Olive Oil Co. Aged Dark Fig Balsamic, reduced
Brie or Camembert Cheese
A baguette

*See recipe below for how to make a reduction in 10-15 minute, which you can make as you pre-heat your oven.

Recipe:

Slice across the baguette as if you were slicing into pieces, BUT only slice 2/3 of the way down per cut. Stuff the slices with soft cheese of your choice. Wrap the bread in foil and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is hot and gooey.
Remove the loaf from the oven and drizzle with cooled balsamic reduction. For added balsamic pizazz, drizzle more reduction on top of each piece.

Dark Balsamic Reduction Recipe
Prep time: 1 minute Cooking time: 10-15 minutes Makes: approximately 1/3 cup

Needed for this recipe:

Any Sunshine Coast Olive Oil Co. Dark Balsamic.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of Sunshine Coast Olive Oil Co. Dark Balsamic.
1/2 tsp. water (this helps keep the balsamic from sticking to the edges of the pan and burning)

Today’s Reduction:

Mix balsamic and water in a small non-reactive saucepan, such as: enamel, glass or stainless steel*. Heat on medium low on stovetop, choosing a temperature that encourages evaporation but that does not allow the balsamic to boil. Stir occasionally with a stainless steel spoon.
Evaporate your balsamic approximately 10-15 minutes**. Your reduction is ready when it ‘coats’ the back of a spoon. Your reduction will thicken further as it cools, so stop sooner rather than later. Allow the reduction to cool 5 – 10 minutes.

For a savoury reduction on meat or fish, you want to reduce your total volume by about 1/3 (leaving 2/3 of the original volume). For the purposes of the class, pour the reduction into a clean bottle with a pour spout.

For a thicker dessert reduction, you want to reduce your total volume about 1/2 (leaving 1/2 of the original volume). This thicker reduction may not work well with some pour spouts and you might be best to store it in a container and drizzle it on with a spoon.
*reactive metals such as tin, aluminum and copper may chemically interact with acidic foods and are not recommended for reductions.
** This process is faster if you make a smaller batch. If you use a supermarket balsamic, this process takes 45-60 minutes.