Higos y Datiles (Figs and Dates)

I had these wonderfully glorious creamy cheese filled dried fruit with pistachios and a bit of citrus to break the sweetness as a dessert at El Farol, a Spanish tapas place in Santa Fe. The restaurant has since changed chefs and their menu is quite different so I’m not sure if you’ll be able to find them there.

This dish works perfect as dessert or breakfast. It has plenty of sweetness from the dried fruit, but no added sugar. The restaurant drizzled caramel on top, but I opt out of it because I didn’t think it added to the dish. My dad had the great idea instead of scattering pistachio halves on top of the plate to chop them and coat the cheese in them.

The key to this dish is in the fruit. Make sure you get the figs and dates (with seeds) from the bulk bin section of the grocery – most of the time they’re already packaged for you and that’s ok. The ones in sealed packages and brand labels are mostly likely not good – they are dry and taste bad. If you have access to an ethnic grocery, all of the ingredients in this recipe will be cheaper there.

Higos y Datiles Ingredients
¼ lb dried figs
¼ lb dried dates
¼ c pistachios
4 ounces mascarpone cheese
1 mandarin

Higos y Datiles Directions
Cut ¼ lb dates across the length and remove the seed. Make sure you leave a hinge. Cut ¼ lb figs down the length and leave a hinge.

Pile ¼ c pistachios on a chopping board. Rock a knife back and forth to create a mince.

Stuff the dates and figs with mascarpone cheese. Add as much cheese as you can because it will cut the sweetness and add more surface for pistachios. You’ll probably have extra cheese.

Pile the chopped pistachios together and press the cheese side of the fruit into the pistachios to coat the dried fruit. Scatter the filled and dipped fruit on a plate.

Peel the mandarin and remove all the white strings that you can. Break it into segments and scatter it among the dried fruit.