Bethany Kehdy

Date & Tahini Truffles

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Preparation info

  • Difficulty

    Easy

  • Serves

    4

Appears in

The Jewelled Kitchen

The Jewelled Kitchen

By Bethany Kehdy

Published 2013

  • About

Known as both an aphrodisiac and the poor man’s food, there are more than 400 varieties of date available in Iraq. These include soft and semi-soft, or dry dates, also known as bread dates. The tahini is a wonderful nutty addition to this recipe. The truffles are suitable for gluten- and dairy-free eaters. Listed below are just some ideas for coatings, which you can, of course, adapt to your taste.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 minute

Ingredients

  • 12 pitted dates
  • 2 tbsp tahini
  • ⅛ tsp ground cardamom
  • 2 tsp macadamias
  • 2 tsp sesame seeds
  • 2 tsp desiccated/shredded coconut
  • ½ tsp ground coffee

Method

  1. Put the dates, tahini and cardamom in a food processor and whizz for 1–2 minutes to create an oily paste. Put in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to help the mixture firm up.
  2. Meanwhile, blend the macadamias to a powder using either a mini blender or a pestle and mortar.
  3. Toast the sesame seeds in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat for 1 minute until golden and fragrant, shaking the pan often.
  4. Mould the date paste into 12 round balls (about 2 cm/¾ in in diameter). Put four small, shallow bowls on the work surface and put a different coating in each one: toasted sesame seeds, desiccated coconut, ground macadamia and ground coffee. Roll three truffle balls in each of the flavourings until they are well coated. You may find that you need to apply gentle pressure to get the coconut to stick. Transfer to a plate and serve.

© 2013 All rights reserved. Published by Watkins.