Fried Camembert Cheese Salad

Growing up, I was never much of a fan of cheese and the only cheese I ever used to eat was pretty much what you find on pizza. On a trip to Scotland one time I was invited out to quite a posh restaurant for lunch with some old friends. 

Back then I was the fussiest eater you could ever imagine meeting and I was mortified that I did not particularly like anything on the menu at all. Feeling courageous, I decide to opt for the fried Camembert as a starter, not expecting to like this at all. 

It was love at first bite! Crispy on the outside yet soft and creamy on the inside! Absolutely divine! From then on I decided to become adventurous and have openly welcomed cheese into my life! 

I have tried the below recipe using gluten free breadcrumbs, this works too. However, I personally prefer the result when using Polenta as a substitute. Needless to say, both taste great and I would be happy to eat either. 

I generally make this dish when I feel like something light like a salad, but crave that something extra full of flavour. 

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Ingredients: 

- Rocket leaves, washed
- ½ a small onion, diced
- ½ a red pepper, diced

- ½ a yellow pepper, diced 
- handful of mushrooms, chopped
- 1 packet Camembert Cheese 
- 1 egg, whisked 
- small bowl of flour
- small bowl of polenta 
- vegetable oil, for frying 
- Balsamic glaze
- salt & pepper 




Method: 

Begin by frying the onion, peppers and mushrooms in a small frying pan until soft, then allow to cool. If you like your vegetables raw you may choose to skip this step. 

Chop the Camembert cheese into equal sized cubes. Lightly coat in flour, then dip in the egg mixture. Once coated in egg, coat again in Polenta and leave to set for a few minutes. Repeat with the remainder of the Camember cheese. Once all the cheese has been coated, heat some vegetable oil in a pan. Add the coated cheese to the pan and let fry until golden brown. Be careful not to leave on the heat too long as the cheese will ooze out. 

Remove from the heat and put on a piece of kitchen towel for any excessive oil to be absorbed. Repeat with all the coated cubes of cheese. Prepare a bed of rocket leaves on a plate and top with the fried vegetables. Place the fried Camembert cubes on top of the salad and drizzle with balsamic glaze. Season according to taste.