I was watching Top Chef tonight and the judge for the elimination challenge was Koren Grieveson of Avec, The judge for the main challenge was the owner of Avec and Blackbird, Paul Kahan. I was just there last week and it’s cool to see them on TV.
One of the most amazing things I ate during my Chicago trip was something I didn’t even order. Ginger and Amanda, sisters sitting next to me at the bar at Avec, shared their dishes with me. One of which were chorizo stuffed dates. The dates had elements of smokiness, sweetness, acidity, and a savory flavor. It really blew my mind.
Chorizo stuffed peppers. You may have already seen this in the Avec post
When I got back from my trip, I tried searching for a recipe, and what do you know? I wasn’t the first to think of doing so because there are plenty of hits. In fact, there is some mention that the recipe is not original to Avec at all. It’s a traditional dish which means there are plenty of people that make it, or at least some variation. I found recipes that were interpretations of the Avec version. I looked to these for inspiration but to be honest, I had a pretty good idea of how to make it, just by tasting it.
The day after I returned, my roommate and I went to Trader Joe’s and we picked up madjool dates. We went next door to buy chorizo. We already had some amazing Benton’s smoked bacon at home. I pitted the dates, stuffed it with chorizo and wrapped bacon around it. I put it into an 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, listening to an online recipe. In the meantime, I poured in half a large can of tomatoes into a pot. I tossed in half a teaspoon of smoked paprika, a third of a jar of piquillo peppers, 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne peppers, and salt and brown sugar (if needed; to cut the spiciness) to taste. I brought the sauce to a boil and let it simmer for a few minutes. I then poured a third of it into a blender and with a towel on top (heat + rotation = explosion), pulsed it few times until I was confident it was safe. Then I repeated this with the rest of the sauce. I returned the whole thing to the pot. When the dates were done, I plated the sauce in an even layer and placed the dates on top.
Delicious!
Tonight, I made them again but this time I made some key adjustments:
- I used toothpicks to keep the bacon from unfurling
- I left them in for an additional 5 minutes
- I finished them under the broiler for 2.5 minutes
- I barely used any salt because I used a different type of canned tomatoes. Always taste your food. The first batch of tomatoes was very bland and it needed at least two pinches of salt
- I added a dash of soy sauce which imparts a more complex flavor compared to salt
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