Sandi drew week 13 in our Sunday Small Bites challenge. Her chosen ingredient is Brie.
I knew, given the nature of this delicious but runny cheese that there would be a lot of phyllo wrapped recipes and also a lot of traditional baked wheels with wonderful and unique toppings among our group.
So, I decided to try to create a new dish that didn’t use either pastry or whole wheels of Brie. Here’s what I ended up with.
Brie & Sweet Potato Bites

This recipe makes 24, 2 inch bites. They are very hearty and filling, so as a pass around appetizer, one per guest is plenty. As a starter course, two or three are more than enough. I cut one round in half in the photo above to show the inside of the potato.
1 – Wedge Brie (6-8 oz)
2 – Organic red sweet potatoes, peeled & sliced into 24, 1/4-3/8 inch rounds (choose long uniform width potatoes that are about 2-3 inches in diameter)
2 – 3/8” thick slices pancetta diced
1 – egg, beaten
3/4 – cup Italian bread crumbs (extra fine)
1/2 – cup evoo
Habanero jam

Preheat oven to 450 degrees (convection if you have it)
Slice Brie wedge down the middle like you were splitting a bun
Lay open on a small cutting board and cut into 3/4 inch squares.
Put, as is, into freezer to harden while you cook pancetta & roast potatoes.

Arrange potato rounds on a large cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with small amount of kosher salt and roast just until top begins to brown, flip and roast other side. Remove and let cool enough to handle.

Cook pancetta in a hot skillet until crisp and all of fat is rendered into pan. Remove with slotted spoon, drain on paper towel.

Retain rendered fat in pan and add olive oil. Heat to just below smoking point.
Dip sweet potato rounds in egg and dredge in bread crumbs. Fry quickly to a light golden brown, turning once. Remove from oil, drain, and pat out excess oil with paper towel.
Remove brie from freezer, and select 12 square pieces from center. Cut off rind on bottom and then cut each piece in half.

Arrange sweet potato rounds on a parchment lined baking sheet. Top each round with piece of cheese and place in oven to just begin melting cheese.

To serve, garnish top of brie with a small dab of habanero jam and a few pieces of pancetta.