Date purée

Every word of what follows is true. Show a little appreciation! A guest post by Kaja.

“I really didn’t feel like writing a separate recipe for the purée, but the author of this blog (read: boss and tyrant, who, best of all, insists he’s no tyrant and even produces evidence to prove it) made me do it. Under threat of having the rest of my recipes withheld, I caved in and wrote it. Perhaps he had a point. The purée is versatile and you can use it in all sorts of dishes.

I discovered date purée the first time I made sticky toffee pudding. It’s a nice, healthier alternative to sugar or jam, with a really interesting flavour of its own, and it’s quick and easy to make. Apparently some people add cocoa, for instance, and call it Nutella… I wouldn’t go that far, but I can promise you it tastes wonderful.

You can use the purée instead of sugar in some cakes or add it to finished dishes: crêpes, vegan fritters, pancakes, shakes! It’s perfect with plain yoghurt too!”

At a glance: 

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Serves: this makes a small cup of purée. Remember, it’s an accompaniment, not a main course…

Calories: dried fruit is fairly high in calories, but they’re healthy calories.

Ingredients for all-purpose date purée:

• 200 g dried dates
• water

Recipe (extracted under duress):

Boil the dates in a little water in a small saucepan. They should cook for about 5-10 minutes. Then drain them and blend to a purée. Done! Enjoy!