The fun thing about eating is
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Just when you think you've tried everything, you haven't
At a dinner party not long ago, I was introduced to the persimmon. As everyone passed around the simple slices, beautiful orange-colored disks of fruit, we all said a variation of the common theme. “What ARE these? I've never heard of them before.”
The flesh was creamy, unlike anything I’d eaten before, with hints of mango, peach, and orange — a flavor all its own.
So when Thanksgiving rolled around, a meal shared with great friends and neighbors. I couldn't help but smile at dessert. An excellent cobbler of cranberries and, you guessed it, permissions
This bright orange fruit is wildly popular in Japan, which is understandable because it is delicious. Unfortunately, it is not as popular here, although, with each passing year, that's starting to change.
Permissions come in two main varieties
Fuyu – Which are firm and sweet, shaped like a squat pumpkin, and eaten while crunchy like an apple. They really shine in fruit compotes and wintery salads
Hachiya – More lantern-shaped than squat, a vibrant red-orange color that practically glows. They're abruptly tannic when unripe and must be squishy soft before eating.
So this cold weekend in December, we tried our hand at a knock-off of her wonderful Thanksgiving dessert
A cobbler that lets the fruit be the star of the show. Without added sugar, the persimmons and cranberries are cooked low and slow, which brings out flavors you can only get from roasting
Crunchy topping added toward the end. A simple mix of almond flour, nuts, coconut oil, and honey
Topped with a bit of vanilla or honey flavored greek yogurt
The best of snacks for sitting in front of the fire-place that evening, along with a glass of wine, and some old episodes of Dexter
Enjoy!
xoxo
ps: I imagine any number of fruit combinations working well. Strawberries and rhubarb or peaches and cherries?
Persimmon Cranberry Crisp
Ingredients
- Filling
- 5 persimmons, cut into 1" squares
- 2 cup cranberries, quartered
- 1 Tbsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
- Topping
- 1 ¼ cup almond flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil (or butter), at room temp
- 2 ½ Tbsp honey
- 1 cup walnuts (or pecans), chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F
Filling
- Combine the fruit and arrowroot powder in a bowl; toss to combine
- Bake, covered for 30 minutes, or until the fruit releases some of it's liquid, and the mix has thickened slightly
Topping
- Combine all of the topping ingredients in a food processor and pulse a couple of times.
- If you like your topping a bit on the crumbly side, you can stop at this point. If you would prefer a dough-like consistency, pulse a few more times until a dough forms
Finish and Serve
- Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and bake, covered, for an additional 25-35 minutes until the top is golden brown and the juices are bubbly.
- Remove the foil and bake uncovered an additional 5 - 10 minutes
- Let the crisp cool 20 minutes or so. Serve warm with Greek yogurt as a topping.
1 Comment
Oh persimmons are delicious I never realized what they were called. I remember having them with cheesecake when I was like 16 and it was mind blowingly good! x