Sweet Medjool dates are stuffed with nutty Manchego cheese & smoked almonds, wrapped with savory bacon and served with a smoky sweet Romesco sauce.
Isn't it so satisfying to make fancy restaurant-style dishes at home? Because let me tell you, people will be IMPRESSED when you make these gorgeous and yummy bacon wrapped dates.
My family is visiting us here in Florida this week, and we all LOVE to cook and eat. So needless to say, we've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen making some fabulous meals together!
This recipe is courtesy of my mom, and DANG it's good. We made a batch of these for Superbowl (we got fancy with our game day snacks) and everyone absolutely LOVED them. They are sweet, salty, meaty and crunchy and the smoky Romesco sauce takes them over the top.
The recipe starts with plump, sweet Medjool dates. If you can find them already pitted go with those to save yourself a step (hint: you can order them online), but if not it's pretty easy to just use a paring knife to slice open one side of the date and pop out the pit. Then, stuff a little piece of nutty Spanish Manchego cheese and a couple smoked almonds inside the date and wrap it up with a half slice of bacon. Secure with a toothpick (to use as a little handle) and bake them up until the bacon is nice and crispy!
While they bake, whip up a quick and easy Romesco sauce for dipping by blending up roasted red peppers, sautéed onions, a little almond butter (instead of whole almonds because it blends up WAY easier!), and some spices. The sauce is sweet, smoky, nutty and creamy and goes so well with the dates!
These are a great make ahead appetizer to keep on hand! Make up a bunch of the stuffed/wrapped dates and place them on a tray in the freezer (uncooked). Once they are frozen firm, transfer to a zip top bag and return to the freezer to store. When you're ready to serve them, just pull them out, place them on the baking sheet and pop them in the oven! They take a little longer to bake from frozen but just keep an eye on the bacon and cook until it reaches your desired level of crispiness.
The cheese inside gets a little melty and the almonds give them a good crunch,
For more bite-sized (and delicious. And gorgeous!) appetizers, check out these mushroom and goat cheese Phyllo bites and mini cucumber toasts!
Yummy noises await you!
Bacon Wrapped Dates with Romesco Sauce
Ingredients
For the dates
- 24 Medjool dates, pitted (about 12 oz)
- 4 oz Manchego cheese, cut into 24 small rectangles (to fit inside of dates)
- 24 smoked almonds, whole
- 12 slices center cut bacon, cut in half crosswise
For the Romesco sauce
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- ¼ cup yelllow onion, diced (about ¼ of a medium onion)
- 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 1 12 oz jar roasted red peppers, drained and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoon almond butter
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- pinch cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
For the dates
- Preheat oven to 375ºF. Stuff one piece of Manchego and 2 almonds inside of each date and press closed. Wrap with a half piece of bacon, secure with a toothpick and lay on its side on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with all dates.
- Bake for 12 minutes on first side. Remove pan from oven, flip each date over, turn the pan 180 degrees, and bake for another 10-12 minutes, until bacon is fully cooked. Remove from oven and transfer dates to a paper towel lined plate to drain excess bacon fat.
For the Romesco sauce
- While the dates bake, make the Romesco sauce. In a small pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and season to taste with salt and pepper. Sauté until softened and golden, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a blender or food processor. Add roasted red peppers, almond butter, paprika, cayenne, and more salt and pepper to taste (I usually add about ¼ teaspoon more salt and a few healthy grinds of pepper). Blend or process until smooth. Add parsley and stir to combine.
- Drizzle a little Romesco sauce on a serving platter, arrange dates on top and sprinkle with a little extra parsley. Serve extra Romesco sauce on the side for dipping.
Notes
A cute pictire of Evelyn and Charlie!
Oops! That's "picture"!
They are wonderful and delicious!!
So delicious!!!
Yummy, yummy dates! (Love the pic! Cute duo! Charlie is a smart cookie! He should be wearing a sign : "I am training for the near future." 😉 )
Haha he is a smart cookie! He's learning fast 🙂