Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Almonds

Use thin-cut bacon - thick-cut won't crisp properly before dates burn. Medjool dates are essential for their caramel-like sweetness and soft texture. The wire rack is crucial for crispy bacon all around. For a blue cheese variation, stuff with Gorgonzola instead of almonds.

Bacon-wrapped dates have roots in the Spanish tapas tradition, where the combination of sweet fruit, cured meat, and often a nut or salty cheese filling is a classic bar preparation from Catalonia and the rest of the Iberian Peninsula. The Medjool date (Phoenix dactylifera), the large, sweet variety used in this preparation, originated in Morocco and was cultivated throughout North Africa and the Middle East for thousands of years; Medjool trees were introduced to the United States from Morocco in 1927 through the USDA to save the variety from lethal yellowing disease, and they were commercially grown in California's Coachella Valley from the 1950s onward. Almonds (Prunus amygdalus) are native to the Mediterranean and Central Asia, cultivated in the region since at least 3000 BCE. Spanish cured pork products and the practice of wrapping savory proteins around sweet fillings both reflect the Moorish influence on Iberian cuisine — the interaction of Andalusian and North African food cultures from the period of Moorish rule (711–1492 CE) that blended Middle Eastern dried fruit and nut traditions with European cured meat techniques. The appetizer crossed into American cocktail party culture through the growing popularity of Spanish tapas restaurants in the 1990s and 2000s.