Yvonne Maffei’s Dates With Cream and Chopped Pistachios Recipe (2024)

Good question. I would use roasted, salted pistachios, but it is really up to individual taste. Just make sure the nuts are fresh, not stale; taste them before chopping to make sure.

Gives a new and outstanding meaning to "date night". I substituted goat yogurt for the creme fraiche. Worked beautifully

I served these at a party, and stuffed them with Pistachios instead of almonds. I served some with Creme Fraiche and others with an orange ginger yogurt, another with a yogurt with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and ginger. They were a HIT!!! The most popular item at the party. The plates looked lovely as well because I used lemon, lime and orange zest to differentiate flavors. These will now be my special party food!

I did not think I was a big date fan but these are fantastic, so munchable! I could not find creme fraiche, so used yogurt. Worked perfectly. The pistachios really add a great flavor.

I did not have any almonds or pistachios, so i decided to make a similar recipe. Added the ground seeds of one cardamom pod to the creme instead of the lemon zest, cardamom really goes very well with dates. Stuffed the dates and sprinkled coconut on its top.. though it came really tasty and light.

Should the pistachios be salted or unsalted? I would guess salted for the sweet/salty contrast with the dates. Any thoughts?

I mixed half creme fraiche and half goat cheese. It was delicious.

I agree with Tricia. Looks like they used lime zest instead of the lemon or orange zest mentioned in the recipe. Wouldn't a mixture of the zests look beautiful?

Love this as a snack or hors d'oeuvre as part of a Persian or middle eastern menu. I have made a couple of tweaks after using this recipe many times: I arrange the sliced dates on my serving platter or plate, then I sprinkle them very lightly with orange flower water. I cover the platter/plate with plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge until just before serving. This simplifies prep at party time, livens the flavor and softens store bought dates. I replace the citrus zest with Maldon salt.

I think you are looking at the stringy lime zest as well as the pistachio

One word......delicious. the lemon zest and Creme fraiche cut through the sweetness. Loved loved loved these. I put Almonds and walnuts inside which were both roughly pounced in my pestle and mortar.

Would the best substitute for crème fraîche be sour cream?

Try with vegan yogurt or whipped coconut cream

Warning: Make sure you DO sprinkle nuts on the top. Without them there is no indication that this dish contains nuts. We once caused a medical emergency because of stealth nuts in what looked like unadulterated dates.

These were incredible. I thought the crème fraîche looked messy in the picture so I used goat cheese on top of the walnut, then the chopped pistachios, and then lime zest, instead of lemon zest, to finish. The goat cheese held everything together nicely and was a perfect foil to the very sweet dates. The lime zest was perfect. Everybody loved these.

Delicious!!

Made with plain Greek yogurt instead of the creme fraiche. The mingling of the flavors and natural sugar in the dates makes this simple and delicious.

Incredibly delicious. Used blanched shaved almonds and added a strand of saffron on top of each date.

I stuffed my dates with goat cheese and walnuts last night, but forgot to add the zest. Tonight I will try this recipe with chopped almonds and I can't wait!

This was a hit at the dinner party I hosted. Do not omit citrus zest. I used lemon zest and it tasted like heaven.

Love this as a snack or hors d'oeuvre as part of a Persian or middle eastern menu. I have made a couple of tweaks after using this recipe many times: I arrange the sliced dates on my serving platter or plate, then I sprinkle them very lightly with orange flower water. I cover the platter/plate with plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge until just before serving. This simplifies prep at party time, livens the flavor and softens store bought dates. I replace the citrus zest with Maldon salt.

I served these at a party, and stuffed them with Pistachios instead of almonds. I served some with Creme Fraiche and others with an orange ginger yogurt, another with a yogurt with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and ginger. They were a HIT!!! The most popular item at the party. The plates looked lovely as well because I used lemon, lime and orange zest to differentiate flavors. These will now be my special party food!

One word......delicious. the lemon zest and Creme fraiche cut through the sweetness. Loved loved loved these. I put Almonds and walnuts inside which were both roughly pounced in my pestle and mortar.

I substituted Greek orange yogurt with turmeric for the creme fraiche. I live in Seattle and Ellanos is a local brand selling this flavor but it would be easy to dust the spice to taste over an orange flavor yogurt. I have served this about half a dozen times always to raves.

How about using chèvre mixed with the creme or yogurt for a less runny product?

I mixed half creme fraiche and half goat cheese. It was delicious.