brûléed brie & peaches

- appetizers, summer -

y'all. this very well might be my new favorite starter. it's the perfect summer app for ​peach season.
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INGREDIENTS

4-5 peaches, sliced
1 8oz wheel of double creme brie with the top rind removed
1.5 oz prosciutto (approximately 5-6 slices)
a sprinkle of each: salt, paprika, fresh cracked pepper, and cayenne
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
fresh basil, torn
lemon wedge for serving
toast or crackers for serving (i like toasted eggy bread like challah or brioche)

DIRECTIONS

1. start preheating your oven to 350°F. 
2. in a medium size cast iron, lay your prosciutto in an even layer. it can go up the edges of the pan just don't overlap it too much. as soon as you're done doing that, put the pan in the oven. it doesn't need to be preheated. bake that for 10-15 minutes or until crisp. flip if you notice it seems to be burning or cooking unevenly.
3. pull the prosciutto from the pan and set it on paper towels to drain the grease off.
4. in the same cast iron the prosciutto was in, start to carefully lay the peaches in a circle (start from the edge of the pan and work your way in), leaving room for the wheel of brie in the center. since you are working with a hot pan, i find it easiest to lay most of the peaches, put the brie in, then use the remaining peach slices to fill in the gaps.
5. drizzle the olive oil on the brie, and sprinkle the salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne on everything. put it in the oven, then bump the temperature up to 400. bake for 10 minutes, or until the brie is nice and melty. 
6. at this point i like to use a knife and break some of the rind on the sides of the brie to let it spread out. this will create more surface area to brûlée later. just be gentle and don't completely cut all of the rind... you still want a little bit of structure along the sides.
7. sprinkle the brown sugar on the brie, then broil in your oven until the sugar is caramelized. if you have a torch you can also do that – both ways have worked for me.
8. top with the prosciutto, more fresh cracked pepper, and torn basil (i used a mixture of sweet and purple basils). serve immediately with toast or crackers.