Have you ever tried to peel dates?
Yea… me neither. ย Except I totally tried. ย It was hard. It was futile.
Did you know you’re not supposed to peel dates? You’re not. ย All it takes is one text to a friend.. and you’ll know for sure.
Texting with sticky fingers. It’s just real. ย No biggie.
I love this spread. ย It’s bold. ย It’s how I want to live my whole life: ย sweet, spicy, tart, and good on everything.
Yea… that’s exactly how I want to live my life. ย Most days. ย Most days are tart days.
This spread is flavored with lemon zest, fresh grated ginger, earthy cumin, and spicy chili flakes. ย There’s also a load of fresh lemon juice. ย Just lovely. ย It packs a punch.
You saw the closeup. ย This is a less close up.
I just can’t resist. ย He’s all fluff.
This spread gets cooked down and pureed.
This is the cooked down part of the process.
Maybe I ate a hearty amount of spread just like this? ย So what. ย Stop staring.
I served this spicy sweet spread on warm garlic naan. It was divine! ย It was piled on. ย It was double dipped. ย It was alluringly spicy and irresistibly sweet. ย This spread would also be incredible on a turkey sandwich, or as a thick sauce with roasted chicken or pork, and smashed potatoes.
Think big! Live big too!
Spicy Lemon Date Spread
adapted just slightly from Party Like A Culinista
makes about 2 cups of spread
2 1/2 cups pitted, chopped dates (dates don’t get peeled)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 cups water
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger (ginger gets peeled)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
scant 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt
warm naan or pita bread
extra virgin olive oil for serving
Place a medium saucepan over medium heat. ย Add chopped dates, lemon juice, water, zest, ginger, and spices to the pan. ย Simmer until almost all of the water is evaporated. ย The dates will begin to break down, and the simmering mixture will resemble a very thick stew., about 30 minutes.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
Place mixture in the bowl of a food processor fit with a blade attachment. Puree mixture until smooth. ย That’s it! ย Serve it up.
Spread is delicious warm and at room temperature. ย Spread will last, covered in the fridge, for up to 5 days.
98 Responses
This is glorious… I love this with crackers and Brie. I would love to make a few bottles as gifts for my friends is there any way I can preserve this for longer?
Ive made gallons of this! Always a crowd pleaser.
Has anyone tried having peanut butter with this date spread? It’s a fantastic sub for jam/jelly!! SO GOOD. Also dates simply stuffed with peanut butter are delicious.
I made this last weekend for a party and received a lot of compliments! This week I’ve mixed the leftovers in oatmeal (yum!). But the best discovery has been spreading this on toasted whole grain bread with some tahini. It is like a delicious, grown up PB&J. I will definitely be making several more of these until this spread runs out. Great recipe – thanks for sharing!
Joy, thank you so much for this. I made this yesterday night for a potluck I was hosting and it’s perfect on warm naan. I’m so glad there are leftovers…! Very, very delicious with blue cheese.
This stuff is amazing! Made it as an appetizer tonight, followed by a Moroccan-style chicken dish and orange + black olive salad. We love the spicy kick!
Do you think this could work with a cheese plate. It looks wonderful.
TOTALLY!!
This looks totally awesome. I’m going to pick up dates on the way home and make this and pack it in my lunches for the week!
I made this and I am totally addicted to it! I have been eating it on baked chickpea pancakes (I can’t eat gluten) and it is fabulous. Thank you so much for the recipe!
This sounds so awesome, even though I can’t quite imagine how it must taste–I don’t have much experience with dates (always went for figs instead). I love all of the other ingredients so much that I obviously have to make this now.
Made this the other day and layered it with peanut butter on top of puffed kamut cakes for an ultra-healthy version of pb&j! So delicious!