Prosciutto-Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese
Medjool dates stuffed with tangy goat cheese, wrapped in salty prosciutto, and roasted
- 24Medjool dates(pitted)
- 6 ozgoat cheese(softened)
- 12 slicesprosciutto(halved lengthwise)
- 2 tbsphoney(for drizzling)
- 1 tspfresh rosemary(minced)
- 0.25 tspblack pepper(freshly cracked)
Dates can be stuffed and wrapped up to 24 hours ahead; refrigerate. Bake just before serving.
- 1Preheat oven to 400°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper
- 2Slice dates lengthwise and open like a book
- 3Fill each date with about 1 teaspoon goat cheese
- 4Close date around cheese
- 5Wrap each stuffed date with half slice of prosciutto
- 6Arrange seam-side down on prepared baking sheet
- 7Bake 10-12 minutes until prosciutto is crispy
- 8Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with rosemary and pepper
- 9Let cool 2 minutes before serving
Medjool dates are essential - their large size and caramel-like flesh are superior to other varieties. Room temperature goat cheese is easier to pipe or spoon. The prosciutto should be thin enough to crisp without overcooking the dates. Blue cheese is an excellent substitute for goat cheese.
This preparation combines three distinct food traditions of the Mediterranean and Middle East in a single-bite format. Prosciutto crudo, Italy's dry-cured ham, has been produced in the Parma and San Daniele regions of northern Italy since at least Roman times, with the first PDO protections awarded in 1996. Dates (Phoenix dactylifera) have been cultivated across the Middle East and North Africa for at least six thousand years, with Sumerian texts from 4,000 BCE documenting their use; the Medjool date specifically was brought to the United States from Morocco in 1927 by the USDA. Goat cheese has been produced in France for thousands of years, with French chèvre becoming widely available in American artisan cheese markets from the 1980s onward when Laura Chenel began supplying Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkeley in 1981. The flavor logic of the combination — the salt and umami of prosciutto, the caramel sweetness of Medjool dates, and the cool tang of fresh goat cheese — creates a three-note flavor chord that moves through sweet, salty, and sour in a single bite. New Year's Eve entertaining drove demand for composed, elegant one-bite appetizers that felt celebratory; this preparation meets that need precisely. The Mediterranean-Italian-Middle Eastern combination reflects the American party food evolution of the 2000s, when global flavor combinations became standard in home and catered entertaining.