I got this recipe from a magazine. There are a few more like that around the cookbook; although, I've usually made some fairly significant changes to them. I think I did this one mostly as was written, except I used fresh basil instead of dried. I often cut out and keep recipes I find, if they look interesting. When I have a large enough pile, I generally throw them away without trying them. Sometimes, though, I do try one.... and wish I had thrown it away without trying it. On this occasion, I threw the recipe away, but a few months later, when I bought a lovely basil plant from a shop in Berlin, I suddenly remembered the recipe. As you can see, it's very simple, so I think I remembered everything.
I don't eat a lot of sweet things, but when I do feel the urge to, I find I enjoy them immensely. I prefer fruity desserts to pastries and things like that, but I like my dessert to be a little more than just chopped fruit (though there's nothing wrong with a simple fresh fruit salad - nothing at all). This is a good example of the kind of thing I like: lots of fruit with just a little bit of added extra effect. The basil in this recipe gives a wonderfully complex flavour; it's not exactly savoury, but I reckon this would also make a great starter to get your guests right in the mood for a more substantial main course. Why not try it and see?
I suggest using dates without the stones, so that you can enjoy your dish without stopping every bite to extract the stone from another date with your teeth and your tongue. You can buy dates already prepared. You can easily tell if they' re stoned; Just take one look at their eyes.... If you can only find the ones with stones in them, buy them, as it's not difficult at all to get the stones out with a small knife. Just make a slit along one side of the date and work the stone out. After doing a few you'll come up to speed.
I think this lot will do about four people. I made it for two of us and we had half left over which we put in the fridge and enjoyed for breakfast the following morning. But it depends on how hungry everyone is. I'm sure there would be occasions when I could scoff the lot in one sitting. It really is delicious.
Ingredients
150g of stoned dates
1 orange
About 200 ml of grape juice (1 average glass)
Half of a lemon
A few sprigs of fresh basil (or a half teaspoon of dried)
Peel the orange (make sure to remove all the white stuff that's under the skin) and cut into pieces of a shape that seems aesthetically appealing to you. Add to a bowl with the dates.
Put the grape juice in a small saucepan and squeeze the juice from the lemon into it. Bring to the boil and reduce to a light syrup by boiling vigorously, but watch out near the end as the liquid can easily evaporate too much and burn quickly. It should only take a few minutes to make the syrup.
Pour the syrup over the fruit, add the basil (chopped, if it's fresh) and mix all the ingredients. Leave to cool and serve.