I am creating persimmon dishes faster than I can share them with you! If you have a persimmon tree in your backyard or some strays in your fruit bowl for that matter, you’ll know how quickly they ripen off the tree.
Almost by accident I discovered that ripe persimmon flesh looks and tastes very similar to mango. I know, they are not tropical, but with little imagination, they don’t need to be either.
Ripe persimmon, if they’ve survived the birds and the wasps, need a little love. They are easy to bruise and need some delicious recipes to make them sing. Yes, you can eat them raw too!
Some persimmon fruit will be pristine and once washed, there’s no harm in using and eating ‘skin on’. Others may need some work: chopping out unseemly marks or insect damage on the skin.
Hands down my Persimmon & Date Loaf was a winner, but over the past few nights I’ve been using them in savoury dishes as an alternative to mango.
So without further a-do, here’s my simple Persimmon Salsa.
Persimmon Salsa
Ingredients
- 4 ripe persimmon, topped and chopped
- 1 fresh red chilli, chopped
- 8-9 small tomatoes, quartered
- 1 red onion, chopped
- generous handful of coriander
- half a lemon
- salt
Method
- In batches, add all ingredients into a food processor and pulse. Don’t over work it, just pulp down so there are still chunky, recognisable ingredients within!
- Transfer to a bowl; squeeze lemon juice and add a sprinkling of salt. Enjoy!
It keeps well for a few days, covered in the fridge.
This recipe makes a generous bowl, so don’t be afraid to dollop it atop cheese on toast the next day, or as a refrigerator relish – it goes with just about everything.
It’s every good as a mango salsa in my opinion and worked an absolute treat with pan fried tarakihi. And not only ‘on the side’ it’s been a delicious bruschetta spread too on crusty bread, topped with cheese and grilled to perfection.
Enjoy!
