Jamie Oliver Roasted Veg With Camembert Fondue

Jamie Oliver’s roasted veg with Camembert fondue is a sharing tray of roasted sweet potato, peppers and onions around a whole baked Camembert, with warm baguette for dunking. It serves 6 and takes just over an hour.

In Simply Jamie (2024) the whole thing turns on the cheese. You cut the rind off the top of the Camembert, leaving a rim, and bake it until it collapses into a molten fondue in the middle of the tray. The roasted veg and torn bread become dippers.

The step people wouldn’t think of is the onions. You halve them unpeeled and sit them cut side down straight on the oven bars, above the veg tray. They caramelise up there while their sweet juices drip onto everything roasting below.

Jamie Oliver Roasted Veg With Camembert Fondue

Recipe by Pinch Perfect

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: Dinner, Sides, LunchCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

12

minutes

Cooking time

55

minutes

Calories

475

kcal

Total time

1

hour 

7

minutes

Jamie’s vegetarian sharing traybake from Simply Jamie: sweet potato, peppers and onions roasted around a whole molten Camembert, with warm baguette to dunk. Feeds six.

Ingredients

• 3 sweet potatoes (800g total)

• 3 mixed-colour peppers

• 3 cloves of garlic

• olive oil

• red wine vinegar

• 3 mixed-colour onions

• 250g (9 oz) Camembert cheese

• 1 French baguette

• ½ a bunch of basil (15g)

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Directions

• Prep and dress:Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Scrub the sweet potatoes and slice into 1½cm-thick rounds. Deseed the peppers and cut into chunky wedges. Peel and slice the garlic. Toss it all in a large roasting tray with 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and red wine vinegar, and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
• Roast on two levels:Halve the unpeeled onions and place them cut side down directly on the oven bars, with the tray of veg beneath. Roast for 45 minutes.
• Combine:Remove the tray and use tongs to move the onions to your board. Peel off the skins, break the onions apart, and toss them through the veg.
• Add the fondue:Leaving a 1cm rim, cut the rind off the top of the Camembert and nestle it into the middle of the tray. Drizzle with a little oil, season with black pepper, and bake for a final 10 minutes, warming the baguette alongside.
• Serve:Pick over the basil leaves and serve.

Notes

• Note (herbs): Swap the basil for any soft herb you like, such as tarragon, parsley or chervil.

FAQs

Why roast the onions on the oven bars?

It’s the trick that lifts the whole tray. Sitting the halved onions cut side down on the bars, above the veg, lets them caramelise and soften while their sweet juices drip down onto everything roasting below. The veg underneath catches all that flavour.

Keep them unpeeled while they roast, since the skins hold them together and protect the flesh. Once they’re soft, the skins slip off easily with tongs, and you break the sweet, jammy onion apart into the tray. It’s worth the slightly unusual setup.

How do I get the Camembert to go molten?

Cut the rind off just the top, leaving a 1cm rim around the edge so the cheese holds its shape like a little bowl. That exposed top is what melts down into a fondue. A drizzle of oil and black pepper, then 10 minutes in the oven is all it needs.

Don’t overbake it, or the cheese tightens and goes oily rather than gooey. You want it just collapsing when you break the surface. Serve it the moment it comes out, while it’s still molten enough to dunk into.

What veg can I swap in?

Sweet potato, peppers and onions are the base, but this is forgiving. Chunky butternut squash, parsnips, carrots and fennel all roast beautifully in the same tray. Keep everything a similar size so it cooks evenly in the time.

Firmer root veg can go in from the start, while softer things like courgette or cherry tomatoes are better added partway through so they don’t collapse. The red wine vinegar in the dressing keeps whatever you use from tasting flat.

Is it properly vegetarian, and can I use another cheese?

It’s a vegetarian dish, but classic Camembert is often made with animal rennet, so look for one labelled vegetarian if that matters to you. It’s not vegan, as it’s built around dairy. A whole Brie or any Camembert-style round works the same way.

Pick a ripe but firm cheese. An overripe one can turn greasy rather than gooey when baked. A 250g wheel is right for six as part of a spread, so scale up with a second if you’re serving it as the main event.

Is it a starter or a main, and what goes with it?

It works both ways: a generous sharing starter for six, or a light main for four with a bit more bread. The baguette is essential for dunking, though sourdough or focaccia do the job too. A crisp green salad cuts through the richness.

For a fuller Mediterranean spread, set it alongside something like Jamie’s harissa butter beans, which people can also scoop with the bread. Between the two you’ve got a relaxed, dip-everything table.

What do I do with leftovers?

The roasted veg keeps well for a couple of days and reheats happily. The cheese is the tricky part, since it sets firm once cold and won’t melt back to the same fondue, so it’s best eaten on the day. Store the veg and any leftover bread separately.

Don’t waste the veg though. Blitzed with a tin of tomatoes it becomes a smooth sauce base, much like secret veg sauce, or you can fold it through pasta or couscous. There’s more on the Jamie Oliver recipes page.