Add a festive touch to your winter salad with bright and colourful persimmons, pomegranates and apples. Top it off with slivers of cheese and maple-glazed walnuts.
Amid all the holiday baking and party prep over the next few weeks, we need something green! This Persimmon Pomegranate Salad is bright, colourful and will add a festive touch to your winter lunch or dinner salads.
Persimmons are something new to me. I discovered them during our recent trip to Spain when I picked up a few at a Lidl supermarket. I had no idea how to eat one. Do I peel it? Bite into it like an apple? Slice it? I quartered one, ate it, loved it, and I went back for more. A ripe persimmon is firm, but sweet and has a texture similar to a cross between a mango and an apple. Delicious! No need to peel.
I've since learned that there are two types of persimmons, and the one I had, the Fuyu, is the one most commonly found here in North America, as it is grown in California. It looks almost like an orange tomato, with a slightly thicker skin.
The other variety, the Hachiya, must be eaten when it is very ripe, or it will taste horrible. Persimmons are generally available from October through January, making them an ideal fruit to dress up a winter salad.
This simple but wholesome Persimmon Pomegranate Salad begins with a bed of fresh field greens, (or greens of your choice). Top it with very thinly sliced cucumber, apple, and persimmon, then add a sprinkle of pomegranate arils (for the pretty factor.) Shavings of Manchego cheese and a handful of maple-glazed walnuts adds protein. Drizzle it all with Honey-Dijon dressing and dig right in!
Adding fruit to salads is one of my favourite ways to dress up a winter meal. Using seasonal fruits and winter vegetables and adding cheese and nuts often results in exciting creations.
We've had this Fennel Apple Chicken Salad with Pumpkin Spice Pecans on repeat this fall! Try one or more of these 6 Tasty Healthy Winter Salads if you're looking for more salad inspiration.
And if you're looking for more ways to enjoy persimmons, try these one-bite, pop-in-your-mouth easy appetizers: Persimmon Prosciutto Cheese Bites.
Persimmon Pomegranate Salad with Maple Walnuts
Ingredients
- 4 cups field greens
- 1 persimmon, thinly sliced
- 1 medium apple, thinly sliced
- ¼ long English cucumber, thinly sliced
- ½ cup pomegranate arils
- ½ cup maple glazed walnuts
- ½ cup Manchego cheese, shaved or slivered
Honey Dijon Dressing
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp honey
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ clove garlic
- ½ cup olive oil, extra virgin
- ½ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
Instructions
- Whisk the dressing ingredients together and set aside to allow flavours to blend.
- Heat a small skillet and add ½ cup walnuts. When just beginning to brown and become fragrant, add 1 ½ tablespoons of maple syrup. Cook for a minute or so, then remove to a piece of parchment paper and allow to cool.
- Arrange greens on a plate, in a bowl or on a platter. Top with thinly sliced persimmon, cucumber, apple, and cheese. Add pomegranate arils and maple-glazed walnuts. Drizzle with Honey Dijon dressing and serve.
Notes
-
Heat a small skillet over medium heat.
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Add ½ cup walnuts and 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup and cook, stirring occasionally until walnuts are toasted and syrup has caramelized, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with a pinch of smoked sea salt, if desired.
Nutrition
Items I used to make this Persimmon Pomegranate Salad:
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Nicoletta @sugarlovespices says
I just love adding fruit and nuts (and cheese) to my salad! And I love persimmons, I grew up with them, either the hard variety or the soft one, but I cannot find them here. Well, the varieties you mentioned are similar, but not too close to what I know 🙂 . This salad is beautiful and the flavors together are delicious! 5 stars!
Flavour & Savour says
Thanks!! I'm with you on the idea of loading up a salad with fruit and nuts. They're available here, but more difficult to find than in Spain where they were as common as oranges and apples!
Natalie Browne says
I’ve seen persimmons in the store, but never known what to do with them, so never picked one up. I’m definitely grabbing one to try next time I’m at the store. This salad looks so lovely for this time of year. And I like the sound of the maple Dijon walnuts.
Flavour & Savour says
Thanks Natalie, In Spain they were so plentiful that they were served quartered on large platters for breakfast in some of the hotels we stayed in. They're more expensive here, so I sliced them really thinly!
Dana says
I just want to come over to your place for salad one day. You make such crunchy, crisp, and fresh salads — and the homespun vinaigrettes always sound amazing! Love everything about this.
Flavour & Savour says
Good idea. You bring the fish. I'll make a big pitcher of sangria. 🙂
Colleen says
I agree about needing some green over the holiday season. And this salad is like a flavour buffet on a plate. It sounds so delicious, pinning to my salad board!
Flavour & Savour says
Thanks Colleen! It's easy to go overboard on all the rich sweets and savouries at this time of year. Salads to the rescue!
Gabrielle @ eyecandypopper says
This is the kind of salad that makes my mouth water! Packed full of yummy things. and so fresh for this time of year, which can be a nice break from the heavier things. Yum!
Flavour & Savour says
Thanks Gabby! There's always a salad of some sort on our table!