Persimmon Salad with Candied Hazelnuts

If you’re wondering what to do with persimmons because your tree is overflowing, try this sweet persimmon salad recipe topped with candied hazelnuts, coconut chips and dressing with a pomegranate molasses dressing.

Why You’ll Love this Persimmon Salad

Salads with persimmons are one of the best ways to enjoy the persimmon season, especially if you have a tree in your backyard and are running out of ideas of what to do with persimmons.

Let’s really sweeten them up by making candied hazelnuts and sprinkling them through the salad. It just gives the salad a bit of fun.

You’ll love this salad because it’s unique and not a run of the mill side salad. Crunchy, sweet, tart and savoury all at once, it’s a fantastic salad to serve during Thanksgiving or Christmas.

What Is a Persimmon?

Persimmon is an edible fruit that ranges from yellow to deep orange in colour, the size of a beefsteak tomato or big Roma tomato and has taut and shiny skin.

The top of a persimmon consists of a calyx which resembles a flower. Their shape varies across the varieties, with the most common the shape of tomato or an acorn.

They are native to China but also found in Japan and Korea while they spread their wings to North America around the 19th century.

Persimmon trees are often found in American backyards and are an extremely popular fruit. Related to the date plum, these are variants of the species Diospyros kaki.

If you have an abundance of persimmons, you can also try our Vegan Persimmon Salad with Beetroot Dressing.

When Is the Persimmon Season?

The persimmon is an autumn/winter fruit that is generally available for about 3-4 months. In the Northern hemisphere, you’ll be able to get your first persimmon of the season from October until about January. This is perfect timing for Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes!

In the Southern Hemisphere, the persimmon season is from about March to June.

Lucky for us, Phenie’s in-laws have a fruitful persimmon tree, and every year we’re graced with a generous bag of organically grown fruit. So I naturally had to take full advantage of it and create a salad for the season.

What Are The 2 Main Types of Persimmons?

There are 2 main types of persimmons that are consumed regularly. These 2 types of persimmons are known as Asian persimmons.

The first type of persimmon is called the fuyu persimmon and perhaps the more common of the two. The fuyu persimmon looks like a beefsteak tomato as it’s round and squat. It is hard and crunchy when less ripe, while it can become very soft once it ripens.

I grew up on the fuyu persimmon, and over the years, I have come to realise that there are 2 kinds of fuyu persimmon eaters. Either you like it hard and crunchy, or you wait until it’s really ripe and becomes soft and super sweet.

I’m of the crunchy variety and, in fact, think it’s gross when it’s soft and starts to take on a jelly-like consistency. It is by no means off, just ripe.

The second type of persimmon is the hachiya persimmon. This fruit has the shape of an acorn. In the USA, they are grown in Hawaii and are the common variety eaten in California.

What Does a Persimmon Taste Like?

While the 2 different types of persimmons seem quite similar, they are different in taste. The fuyu persimmon is non-astringent, while the hachiya persimmon is of the astringent variety.

As mentioned above, the fuyu persimmon can be eaten hard or soft, while the hachiya persimmon can’t be eaten when it’s not fully ripe.

Well, you can, but its astringency makes it hard to eat. It is high in tannins, and it would be like eating an unripe banana. You can cut it in half when it is ripe and use a spoon to scoop out the soft flesh.

Persimmons are sweet, and it has quite a unique flavour and is sort of an odd cross between a date, apricot and even a tomato with honey-like undertones, especially the riper it gets.

What Are Some Persimmon Benefits?

Persimmons have been around for thousands of years, and apart from tasting so incredibly delicious, it has some great health benefits to boost.

According to Very Well Fit and Organic Facts, Some of the persimmon benefits include:

• A good source of thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), folate, magnesium and phosphorus.
• High in soluble fibre and low in calories.
• The beta carotene content is believed to help control the growth and spread of cancer cells.
• Good source of Vitamin A, which is great for immune function, eye health and fetal development.
• Persimmons are antioxidant-rich, which is excellent for reducing age related illnesses such as osteoporosis.
• Helps to reduce inflammation.
• Good for heart related diseases as it contains folate and Vitamin C.
• Promotes brain health due to a natural compound called fisetin.
• The potassium in persimmons reduces blood pressure.

Recipe Overview

Flavour/Texture: This persimmon salad recipe is full of crunch. Crunch from the apple, the candied hazelnuts, coconut chips and the persimmon itself. This recipe is also sweet from both the natural fructose of the fruits and the candied hazelnut.

The pomegranate molasses dressing provides the tartness this persimmon recipe needs to balance out the flavours, while the mixed green leaves provide the savoury component.

If you wish to add a peppery, anise-like flavour, use arugula leaves or have more arugula in the mixed greens.

Ease: the only real tricky part of this persimmon recipe is the candied hazelnuts. Getting the skin off the hazelnuts requires a bit of fiddling around, and you want to get the skin off as it is bitter. Other than that, the rest of the ingredients are eaten as they are and easy to prepare.

Time: The candied hazelnuts take up most of the time, but I feel that this persimmon recipe wouldn’t be the same without it, so we’re going to make the time well spent.

Lots of sugar or brown sugar is required to make the lovely caramel flavours. However, prep and assembly for the rest of the persimmon salad recipe are quick.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you will need for this Persimmon Salad:

Hazelnuts: I love roasted hazelnuts, and it’s the one nut that doesn’t get a lot of attention. If you can buy hazelnuts without their skin, it would save you a lot of time.

Hazelnuts are such a under rated nut so if you’re wondering what goes well with hazelnuts, we have some great suggestions for your next recipe.

Sugar: For these roasted hazelnuts, they are candied in granulated white sugar. You can use brown sugar if you like that extra caramel flavour.

Persimmons: Please use fuyu persimmons for this recipe. The level of firmness is entirely up to you. I wouldn’t get them too soft, however, so that they can retain their shape when tossed.

Mixed salad leaves: Any mixed greens will work for this persimmon recipe. If you want to tone down the sweetness, you can add some arugula or even use only arugula. The peppery nature of the arugula will really help.

Coconut chips: Such a versatile ingredient, and you don’t even have to toast it. You can if you like, but it’s not necessary for this persimmon recipe.

Pomegranate molasses: Persimmon and pomegranates pair really well together, but instead of using actual pomegranate arils, the flavours are best represented in this salad dressing by using my all-time favourite, pomegranate molasses.

So versatile and one of our favourite ingredients to use in our salad dressings such as our Pomegranate Molasses Dressing.

Variations and Substitutions

Hazelnut alternative: You can pretty much candy any nut of your choosing. Consume the nut element raw to make this a low lectin salad recipe.

Nut free option: You can eliminate the hazelnuts and substitute with dried fruit such as cranberries, apricots or blueberries, or crunchy seeds such as pepitas or sunflower seeds.

Toasting the coconut chips: You can toast the coconut chips if you’re after extra texture, although the persimmon and apple provide enough of a crunch element.

Pomegranate molasses substitute: If you don’t have pomegranate molasses handy, you can use balsamic glaze for the salad dressing recipe.

Additions: Persimmons pair well with numerous ingredients but none as popular as goat cheese. You can sprinkle some on top if you want to add a creamy element.

Instructions

Step by step instructions for making this Persimmon Salad:

How to Make Candied Hazelnuts

Candied nuts are so moreish. Once I start, I have to have great willpower to stop. And for this recipe, I couldn’t go past some candied hazelnuts to accompany the persimmon.

The first thing we want to do is remove the hazelnut’s skin as it’s bitter, and it’s not a flavour I was after for this persimmon salad. So essentially, we will use the boil and rub method whereby you place the hazelnuts in a pot of boiling water for about 15 minutes.

Drain the hazelnuts and place them in a towel and rub off the skin. Sometimes I use my hands and it’s good enough. Occasionally the really stubborn ones need to be peeled with your fingers.

Once the skin is off, place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and put it into the oven for 10 minutes at 180°C or 350°F. We want them nice and roasted before caramelising them.

In the meantime, in a small bowl, mix 4 tbsp of sugar with 1 tbsp of water. When the hazelnut is roasted, place them in the sugar and water mixture and coat them well.

Return them to the baking tray and back in the oven for another 20 minutes or until caramelised to your liking.

By the way, if you have extra, try them with some ice cream. Delicious!

How to Prepare the Persimmon and Apples

Whilst all that is going on, peel the persimmon. Cut them in half and then cut them into thin wedges.

Cut the apple into thin slices. Put them in salted water to stop them from browning. Wash them when you’re ready to serve to get rid of the saltiness but make sure they are dry. We don’t want a soggy salad!

How to Make the Pomegranate Molasses Dressing

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and pomegranate molasses until well combined.

How to Assemble the Salad

In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients together, pour in the dressing, season with salt and pepper and toss.

Serve immediately.

Great Mains for This Salad

What to serve with this Persimmon Salad? Try these delicious recipes.

Roasted apple cider spatchcock, covered in warm fall spices, duck breast with orange sauce that’s deliciously tart and sweet or braised lamb shanks for all those Fall feels!

Frequently Asked Questions

---

If persimmons are not a fruit you’ve come across or are completely accustomed to, I implore you to seek them out during the fall or autumn season and give it a try. This persimmon salad will make a great addition to the Thanksgiving and Christmas table.

That’s all!

More Autumn Salad Recipes

Follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates!

Don’t want to miss out on a recipe? Feed your FOMO and we’ll deliver it into your inbox!

Disclaimer: This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you.