Stuffed Dates

By: Makaela Marie Newsome, Syracuse University undergraduate student

Just to give some background on myself, I am a 20-year-old college student studying nutrition and dietetics. I love working with new and alternative gluten free and other allergen free products.

This is a fun gluten-free recipe that is guaranteed to impress at any dinner party. It is a great appetizer and extremely easy to make – while making you appear to be a gourmet chef with a vast knowledge of flavor combinations! I learned this recipe from my brother who found it during his numerous travels abroad.

Ingredients:

20 Medjool Dates

5 ounces of blue cheese (or lactose-free Swiss cheese)

20 small slices of salami (may also substitute with prosciutto or bacon)

20 small almonds

20 toothpicks

See we are off two a great start already there are only 5 ingredients!

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Take a steak knife and make and make a slice length-wise across the date and then remove the pit. Discard the pit. Repeat with all the dates.

Step 2: Take your de-pitted dates and place one almond and a crumble of blue cheese (enough to fill the date) inside the date. Repeat with all dates.

Step 3: Place a slice of salami over the date and insert a toothpick through the date in salami in order to hold the salami in place. Repeat with all dates.

Step 4: Place your stuffed dated salami side up on a foil line cookie sheet or any oven safe pan or sheet. Let bake until salami is slightly browned and crispy around the edges, which is usually about 15-20 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Helpful and Allergen Tips: To make this recipe lactose-free, replace blue cheese with lactose-free Swiss cheese (it is equally delicious!). A great way to keep the cheese from oozing out during the cooking process is by placing your salami or meat of choice over the slit and then inserting the toothpick.