For an easy, luscious appetizer, wrap a semi-firm white cheese like Brie or feta in grapevine leaves and bake or grill it. It’s a delicious way to make the most of a few grapevine leaves left in the jar after you made mushrooms cooked in grapevine leaves or grilled fish..
The cheese becomes subtly flavored with an earthy, tangy note from the leaves and olive oil. Then there’s the wow factor when you unwrap the cheese and reveal the soft, spicy feta, or release the gooey, luscious Brie from the toasty grape leaves.
As always when cooking brined grapevine leaves, first rinse, then drain them, and pat dry. Snip off any stiff stem pieces.
First, the fluffy grilled feta…
Feta Grilled In Grapevine Leaves
Seasoned feta cheese grilled in vine leaves
- length kitchen twine
- scissors
- 8 large brined grape leaves (rinsed of salt and drained)
- A block of feta of approximately 7-oz (200 grams)
- Olive oil
- Sprinklings of: dried oregano or za’atar leaves; sumac; ground pepper
- 2 tsp grated lemon peel
- Put down a layer of grape leaves large enough to wrap the block of feta, depending on their size. Place the cheese on the center of the layer.
- Dribble olive oil over the cheese.
- Season with sprinklings of the dried herbs and pepper and grated lemon peel.
- Wrap the cheese in the leaves as you would wrap a package. If needed to contain the cheese, place a leave over the top and fold in the sides.
- Tie kitchen twine around the package. Brush with olive oil.
- Grill the cheese package 3 minutes on each side.
- Snip open the twine. Leave the cheese on the leaves to stay warm.
- Serve immediately.
And here’s your melty, rich baked Brie…
Brie Baked In Grapevine Leaves
Rich and gooey baked Brie
- 4-6 large brined grape leaves
- 1 Brie cheese of about 7 oz. – 200 grams (at room temperature.)
- 1 tblsp. olive oil
- Garnishes of choice
- Pre-heat the oven to 375°F – 190°C .
- Rinse and dry the grapevine leaves. Cut away any stems.
- Arrange the leaves to overlap in a circle.
- Rub the olive oil into the Brie on all sides.
- Place the cheese on top of grape leaves. Wrap it completely in the leaves.
- Place the wrapped cheese on a baking sheet and bake 8-10 minutes.
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The Brei will have melted: be prepared with a spatula to lift it off the baking sheet and onto your serving dish.
Spread the cheese on good crackers or crostini for a lovely start to a meal for four, or an intimate dinner for two.
To accompany the salty feta, put a selection of raw sliced vegetables on the table. Slice bell peppers, carrots, celery, even raw button mushrooms if they’re very fresh and perfectly white. If you want a mildly sweet flavor contrast, firm apples and pears also complement grilled feta.
Mild baked Brie pairs well with seasonal fresh fruit like grapes, figs, apricots, apples, or pears. No fresh fruit on hand? All sorts of dried fruit work too; in fact some favor a dried fruit garnish for the concentrated sweetness.
Don’t stop at feta or Brie. Goat cheese and mozzarella are also very good baked in vine leaves. Season with herbs as in the feta recipe above, or not, as you choose, but always dribble olive oil generously over the cheese before you wrap it in the leaves, and brush a little more over the wrapped package.
Photo of feta cheese on vine leaves via BBC Food.
Photo of Brie wrapped in vine leaves by Alexandra Tran via Unsplash.
