Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Jadda's Dates Stuffed with Goat Cheese

Shop with spices in Morocco
Shop with spices in Morocco (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
My Jadda was born in Turkey and married a man named Khaled at a very early age. They lived here and there in the Mediterranean as Khaled climbed the business ladder. Finally, he became a sales rep here in D.C.

The thing I remember with the most clarity about Khaled was that he had an amazing voice. His voice reminded me of rich warm spices: nutmeg and allspice, a twist of lemon, and cinnamon.  When he was happy, which was most of the time, Khaled's cinnamon scented voice was like rice pudding on a snow day - comfort food. But like too much cinnamon, too much Khaled -- the angry Khaled -- could burn my sensibilities.

Khaled entertained a great deal - and this recipe for stuffed dates is the one he liked for Jadda to make up and have on hand. She liked the ease and quick clean up. I, of course, just liked eating them.


Dates Stuffed with Goat Cheese


English: Tunisian dates called Angou العربية: ...
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

4 oz of crumbled goat cheese
1 clove of garlic crushed in a garlic press
2T freshly chopped basil leaves
16 dates - split these open with a sharp knife (dipping the knife in water between slices helps), remove the pits.

So all there is to it is: mix the first three ingredients and spoon a little of the mixture into your dates. Arrange on a plate, cover and stick them in the fridge to let the flavors blend for a couple of hours. Serve this at room temperature.

(Makes 16 hors d'oeuvres - recipe can be multiplied)
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