Purple Haze filled Dates

Purple Haze isn’t just a Jimmy Hendricks song, it’s also a goat cheese from notable cheesemaker Cypress Grove in Northern California and an element in creating an easy, very delicious appetizer that combines, sweet, creamy, tangy, herbal and nutty. It’s a soft fresh goat cheese flavored with wild fennel and lavender pollen a combination that creates a synergy of taste when paired with dates and pistachios. Here’s the recipe. It’s what I call a non recipe recipe because it’s so simple.

Get a few nice Medjool Dates. One per person is enough. Buy Cypress Grove Purple Haze Goat Cheese. One little round is enough to fill 20 date halves. You can find it at most grocery stores from Whole Foods to my local Yummy. If you can’t find it you can flavor some plain goat cheese yourself but it won’t be as perfect as the PH. Just get a log of plain goat cheese and add some fennel pollen or ground up fennel seed and add some ground, dry lavender to it. It can take a fair amount of fennel but be careful with the lavender or else your filling will taste like body lotion. Use a fork to mix it together and fluff up the cheese. It’s easier if the cheese is closer to room temperature.

Then make an incision in the top of each date, remove the pit and cut the date in half.  Use a spoon to fill the date with the cheese. You can garnish the top by dipping the cheese filled date into finely chopped roasted pistachios or other chopped nut. Make a couple extra for yourself.