iatebrisbane.com

Dates are an essential of Middle Eastern cooking. They are found in various dishes from Moroccan tagines to cookies and are made into syrups, powdered to make date sugar and even more recently have been used to create beverages like sparkling date juice. Personally I’ll take dates any way that I can get them. Sarah’s husband refers to dates as “nature’s caramel” and I couldn’t agree more!

This recipe for Date and Walnut bread is from Saad Fayed and makes a delicious dense loaf that’s sure to please. I ate this warm from the oven with a cup of tea but it could be also be enjoyed toasted and spread with butter – which you can enjoy guilt-free since butter isn’t an ingredient in the recipe! Don’t be tricked into thinking this is dry because it’s a bread. The dates give the bread moisture in the centre whilst the outside is more firm with a slight crunch.

This was another easy recipe which could be made with ingredients that I already had on hand in my pantry. A great one to quickly prepare and put in the oven before guests arrive so that they’re greeted with the delicious caramel aroma of the cooking dates.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
• 2 cups of dates, finely chopped
• 1 cup of walnuts, finely chopped
• 1 cup boiling water

Method

1. Preheat oven to 175^oC
2. Grease a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray or a little butter
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine dates and walnuts. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over the date and nut mixture. Set aside while you prepare the dry ingredients
4. In another mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. With a wooden spoon mix in egg and vanilla extract
5. Add the dry ingredients to the date and nut mixture. Mix well with a wooden spoon
6. Spoon into the loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour

Now tea is lovely but where can I get some sparkling date juice to wash this down!?