Salty and Sweet – Bacon-Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Manchego Cheese
When I was in high school, my friend Dave and I would drive miles to 12th and Shunk, deep in the heart of South Philadelphia, just to get water ice at Italiano’s. It was the best water ice we could find. A plethora of flavors (I almost always got root beer), it was more liquidy than a typical Italian ice. On one occasion we ran into Henry Thompson, an acquaintance from high school who I assume lived in the neighborhood. Henry instructed us to buy a pretzel log, bite off one end, and stick it deep into the water ice where the salty pretzel would soak up the sweet, syrupy juices. Salty and sweet, one of my favorite flavor combinations.
Salty and sweet foods are everywhere: chocolate covered pretzels, peanut brittle, glazed ham, sea salt caramel, figs and feta, bacon and maple syrup. Even Reese’s peanut butter cups. And while some foods veer more towards one end of the salty-sweet spectrum than others, these two flavor profiles just work together.
One of my favorite salty and sweet appetizers – bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with Manchego cheese – is also one of the easiest to make. That makes it perfect when cooking for a crowd or when serving a meal made up of small plates. It is an elegantly flavored, yet simple bite to nibble on. After all, who doesn’t like bacon? (Sorry my vegetarian friends.) And with the sweetness of the date and sharpness of the cheese, it’s perfect. I could make a case for it being in the same category as pigs in a blanket as an essential appetizer; it gets gobbled up by guests just as quickly.
Bacon-Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Manchego Cheese
What’s best about this one-bite dish is that it is easy to make and can be assembled the night before guests come over for dinner. Put them in the oven right before guests arrive and they will be ready 20 minutes later.
I recommend buying pitted dates, which are typically sliced open and are perfect for stuffing with a small piece of Manchego cheese.
15 pieces, 30 minutes
15 pitted dates
15 small pieces of Manchego cheese
5 slices of bacon, cut in thirds
- Preheat oven to 400 oF
- Cut the Manchego cheese into pieces that are small enough to fit into the dates and stuff each date with one piece of cheese.
- Wrap each stuffed date in a third of a slice of bacon and use a toothpick to hold the bacon in place around the date. Dates can be stuffed and wrapped up to 24 hours ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate them until ready to cook.
- Place the dates on a foil-lined baking sheet so they are not touching. (If they are too close together, the bacon will steam and will not get crispy.)
- Bake until the bacon is done, about 15 to 20 minutes.
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