Brie is a soft French cheese that is normally eaten as an appetizer or dinner item. Since brie has a mild flavor, it is perfect for jazzing up salads and pastas. Brie easily melts, so it should remain as a topping on the salad, especially if it is a warm salad.
Identification
Brie is an exotic cheese in the United States and a staple cheese in France. According to the Cheese website, Brie is nicknamed “The Queen of Cheeses.” This cheese is made from cow’s milk, and unlike cheddar, it is a soft cheese. Brie is a cheese traditionally eaten with bread or melted into a variety of delicious soups or stuffed in poultry-based dishes. However, you can eat brie cheese as a dessert, dinner item or in a variety of salads for both lunch and dinner. Brie has a creamy, buttery and slightly bitter consistency, which pairs wonderfully with sweet as well as savory salads.
Paring with Poultry
Brie can be stuffed in chicken breasts for a new take on Cordon Blue, or you can pair brie with chicken in a fresh green salad. Start by marinating a few chicken breast and grilling them for three to four minutes on each side on high heat. Slice two pieces of brie cheese to add onto the grilled chicken breasts, and then cover them in foil. Leave the brie cheese until it melts, and then remove the chicken from the grill pan. Prepare a salad by mixing spinach and fresh greens. Create a salad dressing by combining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, two sautéed shallots, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, 2 tablespoons of honey and salt and pepper. Place the chicken and melted brie on the salad and pour on salad dressing.
Pairing With Fruit
Lay four wedges of brie cheese in a baking dish and drizzle them with 6 tablespoons of honey. Sprinkle crumbled pistachio nuts over the top and bake in a preheated 350-degree-Fahrenheit oven for between three and five minutes. Remove the baking dish from the oven when the brie begins to ooze. Toss 4 ounces of mache leaves in oil-and-vinegar dressing and dish out the salad. Place one wedge of brie on the salad and serve with thin apple slices and toasted baguettes.
Considerations
Brie can complement just about any green salad that contains fruit or meat. Brie can also be added into pasta and melted for a new take on macaroni and cheese. Brie is best melted or spread because it is a soft cheese. However, you can slice brie into chunks and add it to cold macaroni salads or green salads. Don't add brie to dry salad, as the brie chunks will stick together.
Nutritional Value
A 1/2-cup serving of melted brie cheese contains 401 calories and 51 percent of the recommended daily value for total fat. Since this cheese is high in both calories and fat, cut your serving size in half to reduce both, and use olive oil and vinegar instead of dressing. One serving of brie also contains 40 percent cholesterol and 104.5 percent of the daily recommended allowance of saturated fat. Eating more than the recommended allowance of saturated fat or cholesterol on a regular basis can increase your risk for developing high cholesterol and heart disease, so eat brie cheese sparingly. Brie is also high in riboflavin and vitamin B-12, containing 35 percent of both in a 1/2-cup serving. Other vitamins and minerals that brie cheese contains are vitamin A, calcium, zinc, folate, phosphorus, vitamin B-6, magnesium and iron.
Cut avocado into your brie-cheese salad or drop in a few almonds. Avocado and almonds both contain unsaturated fats, which work to minimize the effects of saturated fat and cholesterol on the heart. If you're eating chicken in your brie salad, choose lean breast with no skin or visible fat to reduce the fat content of the salad. Note, however, that the American Heart Association recommends reducing your cholesterol and saturated-fat intake to reap the most benefits from unsaturated fat.
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