What to do with dates? 7 recipes with date paste, date syrup and date sugar

Dates are deliciously sweet fruits which grow in bunches on the date palm in subtropical and desert regions of the Middle East, North Africa and elsewhere. Green at first, dates turn into shiny brown jewels as they ripen, with a small hard core. Dates are packed with essential micronutrients and are rich in several vitamins such as vitamin A, B1, B2, B6 and K, as well as in minerals such as copper, iron, magnesium and zinc. What can you do with date paste, date syrup and date sugar? Here are seven recipes from around the world.

1. Aubergine with tahini date dressing

INGREDIENTS

1 red onion • 1 lemon • 2 aubergines • 1 tsp smoked paprika • olive oil • salt and pepper • 40 g walnuts • 6 sprigs coriander. For the date dressing: lemon juice • 3 tbsp tahini • 2 tbsp date syrup • 2 tbsp olive oil

PREPARATION

Cut the onion into very thin rings and put them in a jam jar. Squeeze the lemon and pour it over the onion rings. Shake the jar well and leave to marinate for a while. Cut the aubergines in half lengthwise and then quarter the halves lengthwise. Cut the quarters into slices of about 3 centimetres. Heat a large frying pan with oil and fry the aubergines in it until golden brown. Sprinkle the smoked paprika and pepper and salt on top while frying. Fry the aubergines for approximately 7-9 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they have softened. In the meantime, make the dressing: drain the onion rings, collect the lemon juice and use it for the dressing. Mix it with the tahini, date syrup and olive oil. If the dressing seems too thick, mix in water. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Roughly chop the walnuts and remove the coriander stalks. Put the aubergine pieces in a dish. Divide the onion rings, walnuts and coriander leaves on top. Spoon the dressing over the top or serve separately.

2. Espresso hazelnut granola with cardamom and date

150 g coarse oat flakes • 50 g fine oatmeal • 80 g coarsely chopped hazelnuts • 50 g hazelnut paste • 115 g date paste • 4 tbsp espresso • ½ tbsp water • 1 to 1½ tsp ground cardamom • ½ tsp ground ginger • 2 pinches fleur de sel

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 125 to 130ºC. Mix the coarse and fine oat flakes and the hazelnuts in a large bowl. Then mix in the cardamom, ginger and 2 pinches of salt until smooth. Then mix in the date paste as well. Add the hazelnut paste, espresso and date mixture to the large bowl and mix well. Place baking paper on a baking tray and spread the mixture on top. Bake the granola for 30 minutes in the oven. Turn the temperature of the oven back to 90°C and bake the granola for another 45 to 60 minutes. Then switch off the oven. Let the granola cool down completely in the oven. Then break the granola into pieces as big as you like. Store the granola in an airtight jar.

3. Roasted sweet potatoes

3 sweet potatoes • 2 tsp thyme • 1 tsp cinnamon • 1 tsp vegetable stock • 1/2 tsp pepper • 1/2 tsp salt. For the walnut topping: 100g walnuts - 2 tbsp date sugar - 2 tbsp maple syrup - 1 tsp smoked paprika

PREPARATION 

Preheat the oven to 240°C. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2 cm thick slices. Mix them in a bowl with a generous amount of olive oil, thyme, cinnamon, pepper and salt. Place them side by side on a baking tray. Bake them for 10 minutes. Take them out, turn them around and bake them for another 10 minutes. Boil the vegetable stock powder in a little water. Pour over the potatoes and bake for another 25 minutes. While the potatoes are baking, fry the walnuts together with the date sugar, maple syrup and smoked paprika in a large non-stick pan at medium temperature. After a few minutes they are caramelised and you put them on a silicone mat or baking paper to cool. They will then become crispy. Sprinkle the potatoes with the walnut topping. Serving suggestion: These roasted sweet potatoes go perfectly with vegan lentil and carrot meatloaf and quinoa with cranberries.

4. Yummy date balls

For about 20 balls: 200 gr date paste • 50 gr hazelnuts • 50 gr pecans
Variation: 3 tbsp grated coconut • 2 tbsp cocoa nibs

PREPARATION 

For the base, blend the dates with the hazelnuts and pecans in the blender and roll them into balls. To pimp these balls, roll them through the coconut and then leave them to set in the fridge. For the chocolate date balls, add two generous tablespoons of cocoa to the basic recipe. The version with cocoa nibs: add two generous tablespoons of cocoa nibs to the basic recipe. Cocoa nibs are made from raw cocoa and give a delicious crunch to the date balls.

5. Veggie carpaccio of pumpkin, pear and date

half a bottle pumpkin • 1 large or 2 small pears • 70 g fresh soft goat cheese • olive oil • 1 tbsp date syrup • salt and pepper • 10 g fresh thyme

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 190° C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Unzip the leaves of the fresh thyme. Cut the butternut squash into thin slices and place them on the baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with 1 tbsp. of thyme and some salt and pepper. Now slide the plate into the oven for 20 minutes. Cut the pears into thin slices and crumble the goat's cheese. Then whisk the date syrup with ½ tablespoon of olive oil to make a dressing. Divide the pumpkin and pear slices like carpaccio between two plates. Top your vegetarian pumpkin carpaccio with crumbled goat cheese, extra thyme and the syrup-olive oil mixture. For an extra bite, add some toasted seeds or nuts.

6. Banana-tahingranola

175 g oatmeal flakes • 25 g coconut rind • 50 g sunflower seeds • 50 g walnuts or pecans (broken into pieces) • 75 g almonds (coarsely chopped) • 2 ripe bananas • 2 tbsp date sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon • 1 tsp vanilla powder • 2 tbsp liquid tahini • 3 tbsp sultanas

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 150° C. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, coconut grit, seeds and nuts. Peel the bananas and mash them up with a fork in a smaller bowl. Add the date sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and tahini and stir well. Mix this moist mixture into the dry mixture until homogenous. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Spoon the granola mixture onto it and flatten it out. Place the baking tray in the oven and bake for approx. 30 minutes. Stir well every 10 minutes! Turn the oven to 100° C for the last 10 minutes when the granola is golden brown and crispy. Remove the granola from the oven and stir in the sultanas. Let the granola cool down completely before storing in a (glass) jar, so that the crunchiness is preserved.

7. Berry smoothie with date paste

100 g date paste • 750 ml coconut water • 2 two hands full of frozen berries

PREPARATION

Blend it baby! That's all you have to do.