cooking.nytimes.com

Persimmon Salad with Pomegranate and Walnuts

5.0(476)

Persimmons make a colorful cool weather salad, combined with dark red Treviso and radicchio leaves and glistening ruby-like pomegranate seeds. Walnut oil and shallots give the vinaigrette an earthy flavor, accentuated by caramelized walnuts with sea salt. You need the small apple-size Fuyu persimmons, which are delicious eaten raw. (The pointy Hachiya persimmons need to ripen to softness and are usually cooked for cakes or puddings.) Make this throughout the fall and winter. If persimmons are unavailable use pears, Asian pears or crisp tart apples.

by David Tanis

Open original recipe

Dinner, Easy, Lunch, Quick, Side Dish

Servings

(4–6)

Total time

30 min

Calories / serving

183 kcal

Ingredients (10)

serves

2 ounces walnuts, about 1/2 cupwalnut
2 tablespoons sugarsugar
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or other coarse sea salt, crumbledsalt
1 shallot, finely slicedshallot
2 tablespoons sherry vinegarsherry-vinegar
Salt and peppersalt-and-pepper
3 tablespoons walnut oilwalnut-oil
3 medium Fuyu persimmons, peeledpersimmon
8 ounces radicchio, Treviso or other chicory leavesradicchio
1/2 cup pomegranate seedspomegranate

Instructions (3 steps)

01Heat oven to 350 degrees. Make the sugared walnuts: Line a baking sheet with parchment. Put walnuts in a small bowl. Pour very hot water over walnuts for 1 minute, then drain. Add sugar and fleur de sel. Mix to coat nuts evenly, then spread them on the parchment. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, until crisp and caramelized. Cool, then break walnuts apart. (May be prepared up to 5 days ahead; store in the cupboard in an airtight container.)
02Core and cut persimmons into 1/2-inch-thick wedges and transfer to a low, wide salad bowl. Salt persimmons lightly, then dress with vinaigrette. Add radicchio leaves and gently toss with hands to coat leaves, pulling persimmon pieces to the top. Scatter pomegranate seeds over the top, along with any collected juices. Garnish with sugared walnuts and serve.