Persimmon, Blood Orange, and Pomegranate Salad

Introduce three unusual fall fruits to your family by serving this superlative salad. When ripe, Fuju persimmons are bright reddish orange, but still quite firm. If desired, substitute two pink or red grapefruit for the oranges.

Persimmon, Blood Orange, and Pomegranate Salad
Photo: Andy Lyons
Start To Finish Time:
50 mins
Servings:
6

Ingredients

  • 1 pomegranate

  • 2 large ripe Fuyu persimmons, mangoes, or papayas

  • 5 cup mesclun, arugula, baby arugula, or mixed salad greens

  • 6 tablespoon thinly sliced green onions (3)

  • 1 recipe Pine Nut-Persimmon Vinaigrette

  • 4 medium blood and/or navel oranges, peeled and thinly sliced*

Pine Nut-Persimmon Vinaigrette

  • 1 large ripe Fuyu persimmon

  • cup olive oil

  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar

  • 3 tablespoon toasted pine nuts

  • 1 ½ teaspoon finely shredded blood orange peel, or orange peel

  • 2 tablespoon blood orange juice or orange juice

  • 1 tablespoon honey

  • ½ large shallot, cut up

  • ½ teaspoon Dijon-style mustard

  • Dash ground cinnamon or gound allspice

  • Dash freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Score an "X" into the top of the pomegranate. Break apart into quarters. Working in a bowl of cool water, immerse each quarter; use your fingers to loosen the seeds from the white membrane. Discard peel and membrane. Drain the seeds; set aside.

  2. Cut each persimmon in half; remove core. Slice into 1/4- to 1/2-inch-thick slices.

  3. In a large bowl combine mesclun and green onions. Drizzle 1/2 cup of the Pine Nut-Persimmon Vinaigrette over musclun; toss to coat.

  4. To serve, arrange mesclun mixture on six chilled salad plates. Arrange persimmons and oranges on top of greens, tucking a few in and under leaves. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds. Pass the remaining Pine Nut-Persimmon Vinaigrette.

Pine Nut-Persimmon Vinaigrette

Pine Nut-Persimmon Vinaigrette:

  1. Remove the core from one large ripe Fuyu persimmon; cut in half. Scoop out pulp (you should have about 1/3 cup), discarding skin. Place pulp in a blender or food processor. Cover and blend or process until smooth. Add olive oil; red or white wine vinegar; toasted pine nuts; blood orange peel; blood orange juice; honey; shallot; mustard; cinnamon; and pepper. Cover and blend or process until smooth. Makes about 1-1/4 cups.

*

If desired, substitute two pink or red grapefruit for the oranges or use a combination of oranges and grapefruit. Or use 2 to 3 cups bottled sectioned citrus fruit in place of the oranges. Drain the fruit before adding it to the salad.

Prepare Pine Nut-Persimmon Vinaigrette as directed. Place in an airtight container. Seal; chill for up to 3 days.

Fuyu persimmons: Short, squatty, eaten when crisp, are the ones to use in this salad. (The acorn-shaped Hachiya must ripen to a gelatinous softness to be edible and are the ones usually used for baking.) Fuyu persimmons are enjoying a burst of popularity, with October through December being their prime season-so substitute sliced and seeded papayas or mangoes if persimmons are unavailable.When selecting Fuyu persimmons, look for ones that are yellow-orange in color and firm to the touch. Fuyus will stay firm for two or three weeks at room temperature. Eventually, after about three weeks, they will soften somewhat like the Hachiya. At this stage, some people feel the Fuyu's sweetness reaches its peak. Their crispness can be prolonged by refrigeration if the temperature remains close to freezing (32°F) but once the fruit is returned to room temperature, it will soften. Surprisingly, persimmons stored at normal refrigerator temperature, about 40°F, will actually deteriorate faster than if stored at room temperature (55°F.)

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

238 Calories
15g Fat
26g Carbs
2g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 6
Calories 238
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 15g 19%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Sodium 18mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 26g 9%
Total Sugars 16g
Protein 2g 4%
Vitamin C 0.7mg 1%
Calcium 80.8mg 6%
Iron 1.3mg 7%
Potassium 407mg 9%
Folate, total 52.4mcg
Vitamin B-6 0.1mg

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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