Bacon-wrapped dates with blue cheese and grilled sweet capsicum salad

In this 'grillitiser' – an appetiser cooked on the grill – sweet dates, creamy blue cheese and salty bacon dance in a roasted red capsicum salad with an olive vinaigrette.

Bacon-wrapped dates with blue cheese and sweet capsicum salad. Credit: Fun'Q with Spencer Watts

• serves

  6

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 12 Medjool dates
• Small block or wedge of blue cheese
• 6 long rashers bacon, each cut into two shorter strips

Olive vinaigrette

• 2 tbsp sliced shallot
• 3 tsp crushed garlic
• ⅓ cup pitted green olives (see Note)
• ¼ tsp dried thyme
• 3 tsp lemon juice
• 3 tsp red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup vegetable oil, or to taste
• ¼ tsp salt

Roasted bell pepper salad

• 20 mini multi-coloured capsicum
• ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
• Shredded basil leaves, to serve

Instructions

1. Start by prepping the dates. Using a sharp knife, cut them open and remove the pits. Fill the dates with blue cheese. Close the date around the cheese and using half a strip of bacon, roll it around the date. Put a toothpick through the date to hold it closed.
2. For the olive vinaigrette, add sliced shallots, garlic, olives, dry thyme, lemon juice, red wine vinegar and olive oil to a food processor and blend until coarse oil texture. Season to taste. Add to a mason jar and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
3. Cut the tops off the mini capsicums and remove the seeds. Season with a little salt and pepper.
4. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
5. Start by putting the bacon wrapped dates on the grill. Place the overlapped bacon side down, keeping the picks in the dates. Once crisp, lower the heat on the grill and allow to cook for about 5 minutes. Then when they are fully cooked remove picks and place dates on the top rack of the grill to keep warm.
6. Place seasoned capsicums on the grill and allow the outside to char a little, but keep the pepper crunchy. Once done, remove peppers and dates from the grill and arrange in a serving dish. Spoon over some of vinaigrette then serve with pine nuts and cilantro on top. Enjoy!

Note

Spencer used Castelvetrano olives, which are known for their mild, buttery flavour, in this recipe. You can use any mild pitted green olive.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.