These Delicious 2 Bite Jeweled Chestnut Stuffed Dates are sure to become your new favorite holiday appetizer. Delightfully sweet, salty, fresh and savory in every bite. Crispy pancetta, roasted chestnuts, fresh cranberries and pomegranate arils swirled in mascarpone cheese make these little jeweled bites sparkle.

They also make a nice dessert if you’re looking to offer something a little out of the ordinary. If I’m throwing an Italian-themed dinner during the holidays, I like to serve these delicious stuffed dates along with an assortment of Italian cookies such as Chocolate & Orange Biscotti or Orange & Fennel Pizzelle. In addition to providing a unique and tasty assortment, the combination of colors, textures and flavors is visually appealing. We feast first with our eyes after all.

Jump to Recipe

How to roast chestnuts in the oven

If you’re Italian, there’s a pretty good chance you grew up enjoying chestnuts and dates (among other delicious morsels) throughout the holidays. If you’re looking for a primer on chestnuts and their place of honor in Italian holiday cooking, you may enjoy an article in La Cucina Italiana titled, Roasting Chestnuts: A Guide to the Cherished Italian Holiday Tradition.

Medjool dates are topped with mascarpone cheese, pancetta, fresh cranberries, pomegranate arils, chestnuts and pistachios in these Delicious 2-Bite Jeweled Stuffed Dates. A little sweet. A little salty and bursting with flavor. — Beautiful and beautifully balanced

Roasting chestnuts is a pretty easy process. It’s also a necessary step before enjoying them.

Why do you have to roast chestnuts before eating them? Chestnuts contain tannic acid, which can at best leave you feeling a little sick to your stomach. At worst, it can cause liver and kidney damage. And they can be toxic to smaller animals such as dogs and cats. So it’s always best to roast chestnuts before eating them.

A cool marble cutting board hosts a fresh sliced orange to the left. A glass holds four Chocolate & Orange Biscotti that are fanned out. Two more biscotti sit crossed in front of the glass. Raw cocoa nibs are sprinkled diagonally across the oranges and biscotti. In the background, are the leaves of a hibiscus plant. — Chocolate, Orange Biscotti

This recipe for Delicious 2 Bite Jeweled Chestnut Stuffed Dates calls for roasting the chestnuts before grinding them up for the filling.

To prepare the chestnuts for roasting, make a cross slit with a paring knife on the rounded side of the nut. Then blanch the nuts for 2-3 minutes in boiling water. Some people skip this step, but I find this step produces steam during the roasting process, which helps the skin come away from the nut meat easier. The chestnuts are then roasted at 425 degrees F. for 20 minutes. The nuts are ready when they turn a lovely golden yellow color and you start to hear them crackle. Once they are cool enough to handle, you can start peeling away the skin from the nut meat.

What do chestnuts taste like?

If you’ve never had a chestnut, promise me this is the year you will treat yourself. I can describe them to you, but you really need to experience them for yourself.

A rustic olive wood serving board proudly displays a tall stack of freshly baked Easy Orange and Fennel Pizzelle in 30 Minutes. Succulents provide a natural backdrop, while a sliced, fresh orange and fennel seeds are strewn across the board. — Orange Fennel Pizzelle

When they are raw, they have an slightly astringent aftertaste. However, once they have been roasted, something magical happens. The texture of the meat becomes very soft, almost creamy like a cooked potato. They are not hard, crunchy or grainy like other nuts. And they are more sweet.

Their unique flavor and texture make them a very popular nut for baking. Often ground into flour or integrated into both sweet and savory dishes, they are a truly versatile and delicious nut. And when paired with the pancetta, mascarpone, fresh cranberries and pomegranate arils in this recipe for Delicious 2 Bite Jeweled Chestnut Stuffed Dates, they are heaven.

There are many wonderful stuffed Medjool date recipes in the world. This recipe for Delicious 2-Bite Jeweled Chestnut Stuffed Dates seeks to marry sweet, salty, fresh and savory in every bite. The crispy pancetta, roasted chestnuts, fresh cranberries and pomegranate arils swirled in mascarpone cheese really make these little jeweled bites sparkle. I hope you give this recipe for stuffed dates a try.

Delicious 2 Bite Jeweled Chestnut Stuffed Dates

Recipe by Maria Ostrander Course: StartersCuisine: Italian AmericanDifficulty: Intermediate

Servings

stuffed dates

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Roasting Time

minutes

This recipes yields 12 – 14 stuffed dates, depending on the size of the dates. These are rich, and very filling. This recipe can easily be doubled.

Ingredients

6-8 large Medjool dates, pitted and sliced in half lengthwise
2 oz. pancetta, fine diced and cooked until crisp
2 oz. mascarpone cheese
1/8 tsp. fresh lemon zest
1 Tbsp. chestnuts, toasted and chopped fine
1 Tbsp. roasted and salted pistachios, chopped fine
1 Tbsp. fresh cranberries, chopped fine
2 Tbsp. pomegranate arils, patted dry
Extra pomegranate arils, pistachios and lemon zest for decoration

Directions

Prepare the Chestnuts
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Fill a small stock pot with water and bring to the boil.
Rinse and pat dry the chestnuts. Make a cross slit with a paring knife on the rounded side of the nut.
When the water reaches the boiling point, gently add the chestnuts to the water and blanch for 2 minutes. Larger chestnuts may need an additional minute or two. Remove the chestnuts from the water with a slotted spoon and transfer to a baking tray for roasting. It’s OK if the nuts are still wet. They will dry in the oven.
In a 425 degree F. preheated oven, roast the chestnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet for 20 minutes.
The nuts are ready when they turn a lovely golden yellow color and you start to hear them crackle. Once they are cool enough to handle, you can start peeling away the skin from the nut meat. NOTE: Discard any defective nuts, such as nuts that show evidence that some little critter nibbled on them, mold, etc.
Prepare the filling for the dates
Prepare the dates by splitting them in half lengthwise. Remove the pit and flatten the dates a little so they do not roll around once stuffed. Set aside until ready to fill.
In a small saute pan, cook the pancetta over medium heat until the fat has rendered and the pancetta is brown and crispy. Remove from the heat and drain on a paper towel. Set aside to cool.
In a small mixing bowl blend the marcarpone and lemon zest. Add the chestnuts, pistachios and cooled pancetta. Blend together gently until thoroughly incorporated.
Gently mix in the cranberries, followed by the pomegranate arils.
Spoon a dollop of the cheese filling onto each date half.
Decorate the tops with pomegranate arils, pistachios and a little extra lemon zest for color. Serve chilled.

Notes

If you can’t find chestnuts, you can substitute pistachios instead (a total of 2 Tbsp. pistachios).
You can prepare the stuffed dates the night before serving through step 11. Before your guests arrive, top with fresh pomegranate arils, lemon zest and pistachios for added color.
A good thick-cut bacon can be substituted for the pancetta.