Author Notes
One of My favorite ways to eat walnuts is to stuff some goat cheese into pitted dates (love the way the pits give way to a neat little stuffable 'pocket') and then sandwich the dates between two halves of walnuts. Its tasty, healthy and satisfying to boot. except, I always feel that it wd be a tad more awesome if there was some crusty carbs to round out the addictive factor.
I found some lovely goat cheese rolled in Pepper from Vermont creamery at my local Wegmans, and it made for a perfect two bite appetizer with a box of readymade puff pastry cups. If you can get hold of the goat cheese logs rolled in pepper, thats great , else just crack some fresh pepper in the mix The Hawaij (a middle easter spice blend usually used in making spiced coffee adds a 'zing' from the ginger, that makes this quite unique. —Panfusine
Ingredients
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5
large pitted dates chopped fine
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1/2 cup
walnut pieces, toasted
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1 packet
puff pastry cups (1 packet has 24 shells)
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Hawaij spice blend to taste
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2 ounces
goat cheese
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fresh cracked peppercorn to taste.
Directions
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Combine the walnuts and dates in a food processor and pulse to make the mix into a coarse crumbly mixture. Transfer into a bowl and combine with the goat cheese and the hawaij & pepper.
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Preheat oven to 400 F.
Place the individual puff pastry cups on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place the sheet in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Press down the centers (the centers are scored and so it can be worked with easily) with a small melon ball scoop. Spoon about a teaspoon of the walnut date mixture into the depression of the puff pastry cups. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 10 minutes more until the tops of the puff pastry cups turn a golden brown.
A biomedical engineer/ neuroscientist by training, currently a mommy blogger on a quest for all things food - Indian Palate, Global perspective!
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