Chorizo Stuffed Dates--non-BGE experiment

Lawrence, Kansas, is home to a wonderful Italian restaurant, Tellers. The name is inspired by the building on the corner of 8th and Mass., a convert bank of the old-school variety. Lots of marble, wonderful architecture; the designers were very careful to blend the new and old purpose for maximum visual impact. The old teller counter is the bar and one must go through the vault door to visit the powder room. It relieves one of the many typical personal hygiene anxieties.

I’ve dined at Tellers many times over the years. I remember a wonderful dinner with the Veazey sisters many years ago. Teresa was appalled that Laura and I were enjoying mushrooms. She thought fungi and toe jam seemed to parallel mushrooms in order of things she’d not like to eat.
This fall, my academic adviser and I met at Tellers a few times after class for drinks and such. Without fail, a drink turned into two and food was ordered. Tom turned me on to the Chorizo Stuffed Dates. They are awesome.

Described on the menu as:

“Chorizo Stuffed Dates: Organic California Medjool dates wrapped in pancetta, stuffed with house-made chorizo, baked in roasted peppadew peppers and tomato sauce.”

Check Tellers our here:

http://www.746mass.com/index.php

I’ve been searching for recipes and thinking about this dish for a long time. Today I bit the bullet. We started with a box of dates, two links of chorizo, and a half-pound of really good smoked bacon. Henry and I pitted, stuffed and wrapped a dozen of these glorious little fruits.

The sauce was a different beast. I started with a 28 oz can of organic tomato chunks, ½ a jar of roasted red peppers, some smoky paprika, chili powder, and cayenne. Mixed it all together in a small pot on the stovetop. Once everything was hot, I poured half the mixture into the Vita Mix and let is whirl and repeated. I returned the sauce to the stove on low for a couple of hours to reduce. The flavors pulled out so nicely. It is an angry bit of tomato sauce. The kids and I sampled it on breadsticks and Critic #1 couldn’t handle the heat, Critic #2 continued eating until I made her stop. This is only funny if you know Critic #2 is the 5 year-old sister of Critic #1. She will be beating him severely in less than two years.

I was not comfortable cooking the dates in the sauce, I didn’t want all the grease from the bacon and the chorizo in the final dish. I preheated my over to 350 and put the dates on a rack in broiler pan. The sauce went in a baking stone dish. I put the dates in the oven for 10 minutes and then put the sauce in. After another 10 minutes I moved the dates into the dish with the sauce for five minutes and finished under the broiler on high for 3 minutes.

Nailed it! I would only do two things differently next time. First I would figure out how to get more chorizo into the sauce. Secondly I would have headed the sauce longer. Other than those suggestions, this a one up one down recipe. It was a hit with my guest, who jumped at the opportunity to take a few home for lunch the next day.