How well do you know your Dates?
And that recipe I wrote for Stylist Magazine
As a young child, I regarded dates as a sophisticated dried fruit, not quite as delicious as their smaller doppelgรคnger, the sweet and plump dried raisin. My naive palate simply didnโt appreciate all that the date had to offer. In our pullout larder style cupboard, my Mum would keep a selection of dried fruits, nuts and seeds. She would snack on what I always remembered as โpungent smellingโ dates, I however would turn my nose up and go straight for the sweeter smelling raisins.
I blame Sun-Maid and the young girl emblazoned across their campaigns, much akin to red riding hood only her basket brimming full of grapes rather than goodies for her grandmother. If it wasnโt for her sweet, innocent face smiling directly at me or that clever little lunch box sized packet of raisins, I probably would have a been more open minded. Instead I stuck with what I knew, happily grasping my tiny red matchstick sized box with one hand whilst fiddling around with the other carefully reaching for one single raisin at a time. As painful as this process was, it kept me occupied for a long while, and always meant I had a snack at my disposal whilst my brother and sister were left with none. I am the middle child, always quietly competitive.
As a mature(ish) adult, I have come to appreciate that these formally considered โpungent smellingโ dates in fact carry a delicate and mild fragrance. I can only think it was their lack of fragrance that got me to thinking they smelt bad. Or perhaps more likely my typical child-like picky nature, you know the kind where if something doesnโt look or smell quite right it gets rejected instantly.
Either way, today I am a proud convert who could not live without the things.
Whether it be the large, wrinkly Medjool or the smaller Deglet Noor, both offer something short of magical. Soft and sticky, yet carrying the most wonderfully deep, dark caramel flavour notes, all qualities that I find opens them up to a world full of delicious possibilities. All characteristics that make it hard not to think of them as dried fruits, when in actual fact they are quite simply harvested as we know them, served directly straight off the palm tree. Mind blown.
I have always thought it a complete waste to simply chop them up and use them as an addition in bakes like flapjacks. They deserve so much more. Like steeping them in boiling water for a few minutes, before mashing to a delicious pulp. A hint of vanilla and youโve got yourself some liquid gold, best enjoyed when poured directly over a scoop of homemade coconut ice cream.
I am drooling as I write. Alas, I have no homemade coconut ice cream in the house, so I guess a spoonful with a sip of espresso will have to do. Just as nice and somewhat decadent on a Wednesday morning. But where I find these jewels lend themselves best is when they are made the hero ingredient.
A few years back I was commissioned by Stylist magazine to create a post gym snack. My brief was to create something healthy, delicious and bursting full of plant protein. My perfect brief. I have long been obsessed with making simple, delicious post gym snacks and can often be found with the odd energy ball rolling around the bottom of my gym bag. And letโs face it, they are the perfect gym snack, but what if I were to use those ingredients in a slightly different way.
And thatโs exactly how these mini snicker bites - or Smicker Bars as we called them for the magazine in an attempt to avoid any potential lawsuit from the corporation that is Mars - came about. Same ingredients, only constructed differently. And yes, using that wonderful ingredients, the date as the hero ingredient.
That recipe I wrote for Stylist Magazine
Smicker Bites
Move over energy ball, the Smickers Bite is in town.
Bursting full of plant based protein and fibre, these guilt free snacks are best enjoyed with a morning cup of coffee - post gym or mid morning break time. Quite simply a clever mix of squidgy dates filled with nut butter before being covered in a thick coating of decadent dark chocolate, and finished with a whole peanut and sprinkling of sea salt.
If I can share one word of advice before embarking upon this recipe, make a double batch. Trust me, mine are often demolished before the day is out.
Sitting in hairdresser remembering how those tiny yellow boxes made it tough for tiny fingers to tease out little raisns! Long live the date. Have all the ingredients apart from the caco nibs -going to get rolling