Fashionable Food
Fashionable Food: Sausage-Stuffed Dates
Who’s making it and how you can make it yourself
Where It’s Being Made
Laiola, San Francisco
What they call it: Bacon-wrapped Medjool dates stuffed with house-made chorizo, $12
Laiola makes its own spicy sausage from pork shoulder and back fat, chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic, ginger, black pepper, and the North African spice mix Ras el Hanout. Then the restaurant fills pitted Medjool dates with the cooked sausage, wraps the dates in bacon, and skewers and grills them. The appetizer is finished with a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar.
“If you pit the dates yourself, wear gloves, because your hands get sticky,” recommends Chef Ron Pei.
Also Spotted At
Savoy, Asheville, North Carolina
What they call it: Housemade lamb sausage stuffed dates with mint, $7
Avec, Chicago
What they call it: Chorizo-stuffed Medjool dates with smoked bacon and piquillo pepper-tomato sauce, $9
HOW TO MAKE IT
If you’re using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes so they don’t burn. Cut some Medjool dates (as many as you want to eat!) in half lengthwise and pit. Fill each half with a nugget of cooked chorizo, wrap in uncooked bacon, and skewer. Heat your broiler to high. Place the skewers in the broiler on a baking sheet and cook for five to seven minutes, turning halfway through. The dates are done when the bacon is nicely rendered and browned. Keep an eye on them, because everybody’s broiler is different.
