Persimmon and Spinach Salad

Persimmon and Spinach Salad

  • October 2, 2014

It’s time to enjoy persimmons! Persimmons are in season from October until December and they are delicious!! Be sure to select the yellow fuju persimmon (not the orange variety) as these are the type best eaten raw. Coupled with fresh spinach leaves, toasted almonds, pecorino romano cheese, and dressed with my apple cider vinaigrette, this is one amazing salad. Enjoy!

For the salad:

8 oz. fresh organic spinach
1-2 yellow fuyu persimmons*
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup grated pecorino romano cheese

For the dressing

1/8 c. apple cider vinegar
1/8 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 t. dijon mustard
1/2 t. Honey

To prepare the salad:

Preheat oven to 350. Arrange slivered almonds in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven on top shelf for 8-10 minutes, then let cool. Meanwhile, remove stems from the spinach and tear it into bite size pieces; place in a large salad bowl. Cut the skin off the persimmon and discard; slice into bite size pieces and add to the salad.** Add coarsely grated Pecorino Romano cheese. Once the silvered almonds have cooled, sprinkle them into the salad.

To prepare the dressing:

Place all ingredients in a high walled small bowl or a large pyrex measuring cup and whisk vigorously until fully emulsified.

Add about 1/8 cup dressing to the salad and toss well; add more if desired. Store excess dressing refrigerated in an airtight container, enjoy for up to several days.

*To select a good persimmon, choose one that is hard to the touch and deep yellow in color; it’s fine for the part near the green leafy top to be less vibrant in color, as you will be slicing this part off.

**While the persimmon skin is edible, I prefer to discard it so that it doesn’t get stuck in my teeth. At first I thought that, unlike an apple, the entire persimmon is fit for consumption, kind of like a tomato. But then I discovered that some persimmons, probably the more ripe ones, actually have big black seeds in them, and you will want to discard these seeds. So have a couple of persimmons on hand.