Pecan stuffed dates

 We recently celebrated Christmas in July and I was looking for a new starter/nibble.  I came across these stuffing dates and they worked a treat. Can be done ahead, something a little different and vegetarian.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoon olive oil

1 eschallot, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

50g fresh breadcrumbs

100g pecans, finely chopped

1 Tablespoon thyme leaves, chopped

50 ml vegetable stock or water

12 medjool dates, pitted

12 small sage leaves

Method

Heat the oil in a frying pan, add shalllot and pinch of salt, cook 2-3 minutes until softened, then add garlic, breadcrumbs, pecan and thyme. Cook for a further minute.  Add a splash of stock to bring the mixture together.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Cut the dates in half lengthways (don't cut all the way through). Remove the seed.

Take small amounts of the stuffing and place inside the dates, push the sides of the dates back together.

Put a sage leaf on top of each date, then put the dates on an oven tray.

You can prep the dates to this point and place in the fridge overnight to do ahead.

Brush the outside of the dates with olive oil, hen bake for 15-20 minutes until the sage leaf is crisp.

Yum

Mamma Marmalade