#stuffed dates

Today, I'll be making some honey-stewed stuffed dates - as recorded by the Roman culinary artiste - Apicius. As with most of his recipes, it's a little vague in the ingredients and methodology, but I've tried to recreate this as faithfully as I could! Stuffed walnuts are still eaten around the world today, and they're extremely easy to make!

In any case, lets now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above!

Ingredients 12 dates (pitted) 1/4 cup walnuts 1 tbsp peppercorns honey red wine vinegar water

Method 1 - Prepare Ingredients To begin with, we need to crush or chop our walnuts. Crush them as much as you like in a mortar and pestle. I prefer large chunks here, so that's what I did. Alternatively, you could just chop these with a knife - its up to you! Place the chopped nuts into a small bowl and leave it aside.

Next, grind up your peppercorns in a mortar and pestle, make sure it forms a coarse powder. The Romans didn't differentiate between peppercorns and long pepper, so either could have been used here! Whichever you use, grind it up and leave it aside in a small bowl.

Now we need to make a pocket in the dates. Depending on your dates, this may be easier or harder to do. If they've been pre-pitted, then you can use the little pocket formed by the pit to hold the walnuts and spice.

2 - Stuff the Dates Take one of your pocketed dates, and stuff some of your crushed walnuts into it. Sprinkle them all with some pepper. Alternatively, you could make these into a paste, by grinding the walnuts and pepper into a fine powder, before adding some honey and mixing it all together. Either way works well, but I prefer the texture of chunks of walnuts here. Do this to all of your dates, and leave them aside on a plate.

3 - Prepare the Syrup Now we need to make a broth to boil our dates in. Do this by pouring some honey into a pot, along with a large splash of red wine vinegar. Pour some hot water on top of this, and whisk it all together. Put this over a high heat for a few minutes, until the mixture starts to bubble and boil.

4 - Boil the Dates When your syrup is silky, smooth, and frothy, add your dates to the pot. Take care to do this without letting them fall over, because then your filling will spill out, and reassembling dates covered in scalding-hot honey is not a fun experience. When they're in, let the whole thing boil away for another 2-5 minutes.

CARDAMOM ROSE WHIPPED TAHINI-STUFFED DATES. Perhaps the perfect food? Go forth and get that rosy whipped tahini life for yourself. It’ll take you five minutes or less, and your palate will never be the same.

Redguard-Imperial stuffed date canapés

Note: this recipe is inspired by but does not appear in the Elder Scrolls

This tasty canapé is the perfect fusion of Imperial and Redguard cuisine! Dates are an abundant fruit that flourishes in the deserts of Hammerfell, and have become popular all through Tamriel as they keep well when dried. Dates play an important role in the Redguard diet as they are one of the few plants that can grow in hot arid climates, and as a result has been immortalised in their cuisine for as long as anyone can remember. The above image is a fresco of date palms dating from early 2E in Sentinel.

It is common for them to be stuffed with nuts and sugar as a dessert in Hammerfell, but I’ve put a Cyrodiilic twist on this dish by using cheeses native to the region, as well as prosciutto to make it a savoury canapé. These went down an absolute treat both at banquets I catered for in Sentinel and Stros M'Kai, as well as all around Cyrodiil. Enjoy!

You will need: ¼ cup provolone cheese, grated ¼ cup chèvre, crumbled 1 tbsp good olive oil, plus extra for drizzling 1 tsp fresh basil, chopped finely 1 tsp fresh mint, chopped finely Salt and pepper, to taste 15 large dried dates (medjool are preferred but red dates are also fine), pitted 15 thin strips of prosciutto, long enough to wrap around the dates.

Method: Mix the cheeses, herbs, olive oil, and salt and pepper in a bowl until well combined. Put the mixture into a piping bag.

Stretch the opening of the date and pipe in the filling until full to the brim. Wrap with prosciutto and secure with a toothpick.

Arrange on a platter and drizzle lightly with olive oil to serve.