Brick à braque – Feuilles de brick aux carottes, cumin et munster

I would say that this recipe has a French flair to it, especially with munster cheese in it. Munster is a a very old cheese from Alsace made with caw milk, but other regions like the one I grew up in also produce munster. It tends to be very strong and pungent (Americans would say that is a very stinky French cheese!!) and you need to wrap it tightly when in the fridge, but it has a wonderful and delicate flavor. So don’t let the smell impress you.

Brick sheets are widely used in France to replace filo dough. They’re much easier to manipulate and don’t break that easily, though hard to find in the US. I found them frozen at the Gourmet and More store in San Francisco. You can fill them with anything you like. One sheet has only 25 calories so if you want to keep them light you have to fill them with a light mixture and bake them in the oven rather in a pan with oil. Munster and cumin go well together, the sweetness of the carrot complement the filling quite well. You can substitute cumin with caraway seeds, it will be equally good. More recipes about brick sheets here.

Ingredients for 4-5 bricks

  • 4-5 brick sheets
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 2 shallots, minced
  • 3 carrots, sliced thin
  • 3 tbs dry white wine
  • 1.5 tsp cumin seeds or carvi
  • 170 g munster cheese, sliced
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a pan, add shallots and let them soften. Add carrots, cumin and wine. Adjust with salt and pepper. Cover and let cook at medium heat until the carrots are tender.

Take a brick sheet and lay it flat on a wooden surface. Place 2-3 tbs of the carrot mixture (about 2 inches from the border), then top it with a slice of the munster cheese and start rolling, when you reach the middle, fold the sides and continue rolling until it forms a little package. Proceed until you have used all the carrot mixture.

Pre-heat oven at 375F and back in the oven until golden brown. Serve hot on a bed of arugula.