This is the appetizer guests ask about before the main course even lands. It’s three ingredients and fifteen minutes of work, so the whole thing comes down to the dates.
The trick is starting with fruit that doesn’t need help. I use jumbo Medjools from Desert Sun Dates, a small family grove on the Sky Valley side of the Coachella Valley. They harvest once a year and ship straight from the farm, and like every farmer I’ve ever bought from, I suspect the best of the private stash never leaves the family. Get on it early in the season.
Full disclosure: Desert Sun Dates is run by a friend of mine. I’d cook with their dates either way.
New to cooking with dates? Read our chef’s guide to Coachella Valley dates for how Medjool, Barhi and Zahidi differ.
Ingredients
- 12 jumbo Medjool dates (Desert Sun Dates), pitted but left whole
- 4 oz chèvre (goat cheese)
- 6 slices thin-cut bacon, halved
- Black pepper and a few fresh thyme leaves, to finish
Method
- Stuff. Heat the oven to 425°F. Slit each date lengthwise and pipe in about a teaspoon of chèvre.
- Wrap. Wrap each date with a half-slice of bacon and set it seam side down on a sheet pan.
- Bake. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, turning once, until the bacon crisps and the date edges caramelize.
- Rest and finish. Rest five minutes, because the centers hold heat like lava. Finish with pepper and thyme.
Serves 6 as a passed appetizer. Disappears like it served 2.
Want these at your party?
Bacon-wrapped dates are a regular on my passed-appetizer menus for dinner parties, retreats and events from Thermal to the coast. Tell me about your event and I’ll build a menu around what’s in season.