Pesto and Comté cheese brioche

Ingredients

Brioche

• 1 packet of instant yeast
• 250ml milk
• 300g butter
• 12g salt
• 500g flour
• 100g green pesto
• 250g grated Comté cheese
• 30g walnuts
•  Fresh basil

Pesto

• ½ clove garlic, chopped
• 3 large handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 handful of pine nuts, lightly grilled
• 1 large portion of freshly grated parmesan cheese
• Extra virgin olive oil (for memory)

Preparation

For the brioche:

In a large pan, melt the butter in the milk without bringing the milk to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to cool to 42°C. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Leave to stand for 10 minutes then add the salt.

Then add the flour and pesto, stirring constantly. The dough should be sticky. Once the dough is too thick to stir, transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for one minute or until a loose ball forms. Rinse the bowl, cover it with oil, and put your ball of dough inside it. Cover with cling film and leave it in a warm place to let the dough rise for about an hour or until it has doubled in volume.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a thin rectangle. Brush with 3 tbsp of melted butter and sprinkle with grated cheese. Starting at one end, roll the dough and place the folded side table side down. Then, using a serrated knife, cut the dough into sections of the desired length (5cm for us) and place them on a buttered baking tray. Brush the rest with 2 tbsp of butter and cover with cling film. Place on top of the oven while the oven heats up to 180°C.

Once the oven is hot, bake the rolls for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle a little grated cheese and pine nuts over the brioches 5 minutes before you take them out of the oven. Leave to cool for a few minutes then add the fresh pesto as desired (we decided to follow the folds in the dough) and serve immediately.

For the pesto:

Use a blender to blend the garlic with a pinch of salt and the basil leaves.  Add a little more garlic, if desired. Add the pine nuts to the mixture and blend again. Pour into a bowl and add half of the Parmesan cheese. Stir slowly adding the olive oil. You only need enough to bind the sauce and obtain the desired consistency.

Season to taste, then add almost all of the rest of the cheese. Pour in a little more oil then taste again. Continue to add a little more olive oil or cheese until you are happy with the taste and consistency. You can add 1 tbsp of lemon juice at the end to give it a little kick but this is not essential. Try with and without and see which you prefer!