Baked Brie Linguine

Sometimes, well, most of the time, I would say that cheese is the answer to all of our trials and a much deserved reward for our triumphs. Oh, who am I kidding, it’s basically a good decision at any time or occasion. For my roommate and I, this past week has felt particularly “cheese-centric”. So, when we decided to spend an afternoon of our weekend having a fun cooking lesson, cheese was the obvious star of the show.

The recipe is simple: boil up a big pot of linguine (or in our case, make fresh pasta from scratch for a slightly more complicated but more fun version) and spoon over loads of garlic and rosemary infused melted Brie. That’s it. We sat at the table in silence, savoring every moment of the indulgent dish and contemplating how to justify eating this much more frequently that we should. Besides "it's just soooo delicious" we’re still working on an answer…

Baked Brie Linguine
From Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution
Pasta recipe from Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food
Serves 4-6

For the Pasta (makes about a pound)
2 cups flour
2 whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks

For the Baked Brie Linguine
One 8 oz round of Brie
2 cloves of garlic
1 sprig of rosemary
olive oil
sea salt and pepper
1 lb pasta (fresh or dry)
6 oz fresh spinach
4 oz grated Parmesan cheese

To make the pasta

Pour the flour into a bowl and make a well in the center. Add the eggs and mix with a fork, adding the flour bit by bit. Once it’s too stiff to mix with a fork, use your hands, adding a little water if it seems too dry. Pour the mixture onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough until all of the flour is incorporated. It will seem stiff at first but will soften as it rests. Wrap in plastic and let sit at room temperature for an hour. Using a pasta machine, roll out the dough, about one-eighth at a time and cut into linguine. Let dry on a rack until slightly stiff and transfer to a plate until ready to use.

To make the Baked Brie Linguine

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Open the box of Brie and remove the plastic wrapper. Place it back into the bottom of the wooden container. Use a knife to remove the rind from the top of the Brie, leaving a little bit around the edge. Finely slice the garlic and remove the rosemary from the stalk. Lay the garlic over the cheese, sprinkle on some salt and pepper, and drizzle with some olive oil. Scatter the rosemary overtop and grate with some Parmesan. Place the Brie on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

While the Brie cooks, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When the cheese has about 4 minutes left (12 if you are using dry pasta) add the pasta to the water. When it has finished cooking add in the spinach and stir. Reserve about a half-cup of the pasta water and drain. Return the pasta to the pot and add a few lugs of olive oil, half of the reserved water, and the grated Parmesan. Stir, adding more water if it seems too dry.

Place a portion of pasta into your serving dish and spoon a healthy portion of the melted cheese over the pasta. Top with a little bit of cracked pepper.