Tahini Caesar Pasta Salad & Ice Cream Stuffed Dates
as seen on the TODAY Show
Happy Friday everyone!!
I hope you have something fun and restful planned for the weekend. You can’t function without proper rest, so this is your reminder to give yourself permission to take it this weekend!!
I was on the TODAY Show yesterday, making a couple recipes that I’m excited to share with you today. Even though I’ve been doing segments on the show since I was 23, it still and will probably always feel so surreal to me.
If you don’t know, I moved to New York to join the NBC Page Program, where I gave the NBC Studio Tour (I know way too much about 30 Rock, lol) and worked different assignments throughout the building. After that job, I was a production assistant at the TODAY Show, working in the control room at 4am everyday, running scripts to the talent, and building the shows rundown. While all of that was going on, I was building Dada Eats on the side, a place for me to share my recipes and everything I was eating in my off hours. I would see people come on the TODAY Show everyday, but I never in a million years thought one of those people could be me. I was explaining to someone yesterday that starting on the show that young wasn’t even something I dreamed of, because it was so unfathomable to me at the time, that I didn’t even have it on my radar to dream of it.
I’m so grateful for the opportunity to come back to my second home, to share what I’ve been working on, and to make recipes that you all can bring into your own kitchen and home. And I am also beyond thankful to all of you who are here - you’re the reason I can keep doing this. So, thank you.
Recipes
Okayyyyy now onto the recipes! I am honestly SO obsessed with both of these recipes. They’re simple to make, perfect for the end of summer, and are total crowd pleasers.
Here’s the segment in case you missed it.
Tahini Caesar Pasta Salad
As I’m sure you can probably guess, my thoughts are pretty much constantly consumed by food. I spend most of my days thinking about all the ways in which I can prepare things in unique ways, and how to bring simple recipes into your lives so that you can spend more time enjoying (and eating) and less time complicating things in the kitchen. Not everything I make is simplified, because of course - there are beautiful things that can be made with lots of process, but on the whole — I want you to feel confident in the kitchen so you keep coming back for more.
My favorite hack for a Ceasar dressing at home is to use tahini — ground up sesame seeds with a paste similar in consistency to peanut butter — to create a rich and creamy dressing without any dairy.
I also love making cheesy cashews “breadcrumbs” — a breadcrumb-like topping created just with some raw cashews and nutritional yeast to add cheesiness without any dairy. Beautiful, in-season tomato add brightness and sweetness, and massaged kale adds texture! I know you’re going to love this one.
Ingredients
12 oz short pasta (like Mafalda corta, farfalle, cavatappi or penne)
Dressing
½ cup tahini
Juice of 1 lemon, plus more to taste
1 clove garlic, finely grated
2 tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Cheesy Cashew “Breadcrumbs”
1 cup raw, unsalted cashews
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp granulated garlic
½ tbsp za’atar
Kosher salt to taste
½ cup cherry tomatoes, sungold, or baby heirloom tomatoes halved
2 cups tuscan kale, tough stems removed, chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil
Fresh parmesan, grated to top
Freshly ground black pepper, to top
Method
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Drain, toss with olive oil, and let cool.
Slice the tomatoes and set aside.
Add the chopped kale to a large bowl, add a generous drizzle of olive oil, season lightly with salt, and massage until the kale breaks down – this will make it easier to digest! Set aside.
Make the dressing by whisking the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt and black pepper together. The mixture will seize, and that’s okay! Now, add in cold water, tablespoon by tablespoon, until the dressing comes together smoothly. Adjust to taste with lemon, salt, and pepper if needed.
To make the cheesy cashew “breadcrumbs,” add the cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic, za’atar, and salt to a high-speed blender. Pulse then blend on medium high until a coarse breadcrumb texture is achieved – you do not want to blend for too long, otherwise the oils of the cashews will release, making the mixture clumpy (which is not cute). You should blend anywhere from 15-30 seconds. It’s okay if you have some texture!
Time to assemble! Add the dressing to the cooled pasta, along with the massaged kale and sliced tomatoes. Mix to combine. I like to mix in the cashew breadcrumbs for extra flavor, but you can definitely just reserve it for topping! Top with cashew breadcrumbs, freshly ground black pepper, and grated fresh regular over vegan parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Ice-Cream Stuffed Dates
The only thing I love more than dates is well, uh…actually I can’t think of anything at this moment.
In the summer, you will catch me making no-bake desserts every week. There is nothing better than coming home after a long day and peeking at your freezer to see an array of treats that you didn’t have to turn your oven on to make.
These ice cream stuffed dates have been my favorite of this year. You’ve got the caramel undertones of the chewy dates, balanced out by nut butter, texture from the crushed nuts, and creamy, cold ice cream to top. To seal the deal, everything gets dipped into a chocolate bath, topped with flaky salt, and there you have it.
These really remind me of the snickers ice cream bars I used to love as a kid - but made with unprocessed, real ingredients. You can use your favorite vanilla ice cream (vegan or not) and sometimes, I even like to use coffee ice cream and almond butter for a Jamoca Almond Fudge variation.
Ingredients
6 large medjool dates
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup roasted, salted peanuts, roughly chopped, plus extra for topping
Vanilla ice cream
Chocolate Coating
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1 tbsp coconut oil
Flaky salt
Method
Pit the dates and place them on a parchment lined quarter sheet.
In a small bowl, mix together the peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract until smooth.
Spread about 1 tsp of peanut butter caramel into the date, being careful not to overfill. Press some crushed peanuts into the peanut butter caramel. Spoon the vanilla ice cream on top, ensuring it sits right on top of the peanuts and caramel and doesn’t drip onto the sides of the dates. Repeat with the remaining dates, and freeze for a least 30 minutes, up to 1 hour.
While the dates are freezing, melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil together in the microwave in 15 second increments, stirring between intervals until the chocolate is smooth and glossy.
Remove the dates from the freezer and dip each date into the melted chocolate, taking it for a swim, ensuring it’s fully enrobed. Let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl and immediately transfer to the lined sheet and sprinkle with flaky salt and extra peanuts before the chocolate hardens (work quickly)!
Place back into the freezer for about 30 minutes. Remove, let thaw for a minute or so, and enjoy!
Thank you so much for reading this week’s letter. Let me know if you try these recipes by leaving a comment on this post, or on instagram if you try these recipes. Here if you have any questions!
See you next week!!
xx Samah