Prosciutto Wrapped Dates

These prosciutto wrapped dates are the perfect balance of sweet and salty, stuffed with goat cheese and topped with a thyme honey butter.

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If you’re anything like me, you adore a sweet-salty combination. Things like this baked brie with cherry onion compote or these caramelized onion, gruyere and fig crostini hit that salty-sweet nail right on the head. And these prosciutto wrapped dates are the same way. The dates hit that sweet note, with their molasses-like flavor, and of course the prosciutto hits the salty notes. A stuffing of goat cheese inside the dates is the perfect balance between the two, because goat cheese works well with both salty and sweet flavors. And then a thyme honey butter drizzled over the top really drives home the combo. They are the perfect easy yet impressive appetizer, and honestly just as delicious and satisfying as a quick snack.

If you’ve ever had the Italian appetizer staple of melon wrapped in prosciutto, you know just how delicious this salty cured meat can be when paired with something sweet. And these prosciutto wrapped dates play on that exact same flavor combination. While not quite as easy to make as prosciutto wrapped melon, they are still an incredibly easy yet surprisingly impressive appetizer. Simply stuff some dates with goat cheese, wrap them in prosciutto and broil for a few minutes. Dates are the perfect vessel for stuffing because when you remove the pit, there’s a nice tidy opening already there. You can use any cheese you’d like here, but I think that goat cheese works particularly well with the sweet-salty vibes.

COOKING SEASONALLY IN WINTER

When thinking about the recipes I want to make, I’m always aware of the season and striving to use ingredients that are in season. Living in the US, we have access to just about every ingredient no matter the time of year, but I think that cooking seasonally is more sustainable, and often times the food that’s in season ends up being the food that I crave in that season. Foods like this triple onion galette for spring, my lemon ricotta fig cake for early fall, or just about anything with tomatoes for summer not only take advantage of the freshet produce, but happen to be deeply satisfying meals to eat in those seasons.

Now, the winter season is harder, because there’s not a ton of fresh produce in winter. Yes, there are things like citrus fruits and kale (and I am planning on making a winter salad recipe soon), but winter just doesn’t have the fresh produce heavy-hitters that the other seasons do. But produce that’s been preserved, like canned tomatoes or dried fruits, are staple winter ingredients, and I’m making good use of them here with these prosciutto wrapped dates.

Of course, you can make in any season you like, because dried fruit is pretty much always in season. But if you’re looking for a quick and easy appetizer or snack that also takes advantage of seasonal ingredients, most definitely try these prosciutto wrapped dates.