Persimmon Salad with Spiced Vinaigrette

Persimmons appear only briefly in late autumn or winter. If you’ve never tried them before, you might have noticed them at the grocery store only to find they’ve vanished by the next shopping trip when you’ve worked up the courage to give them a shot.

With a sweet, honeyed flavor and a hint of spice, fleeting persimmons stand out from the more common autumn fruits like apples and pears. This vibrant persimmon salad celebrates them at their best, balanced with tender baby greens, juicy pomegranate seeds, and a spiced apple cider vinaigrette. 

Jewel-toned and festive enough for the middle of a holiday table, it’s just as easy to make for a refreshing, in-season lunch. You can serve it to impress at a cozy dinner party, or make it as a weeknight dinner with a comforting bowl of soup or an easy roast.

Persimmon Salad Ingredients

Persimmon has a short season and can be difficult to find, but once you have your hands on some, the rest of these ingredients are easy to pick-up. Here’s what you’ll need:

For the Salad

• Persimmons: Squat orange Fuyu persimmons are sweet and with a crunchy texture. I like to peel them, but, like an apple, you can skip that step if you don’t mind the peel.
• Mixed greens: I like to use baby leaves of different types of winter greens, such as baby kale, spinach, swiss chard, or arugula. They have a tender texture and milder flavor while still embracing the season. You can use any of your favorite mixed salad greens.
• Pumpkin seeds: Pepitas add some crunch and nuttiness to the salad. You can also use whole roasted pumpkin or squash seeds in this recipe. 
• Pomegranate: With a pretty magenta hue, pomegranate seeds (arils) add crunch and a bright fruity flavor. If slicing a pomegranate is new to you, don’t worry—we’ve written an article to teach you how to cut a whole pomegranate. 
• Shallot adds some bite to the salad. I like to tame it slightly by leaving it to soak in vinegar for a few minutes while prepping the other salad ingredients. Feel free to substitute red onion. 

For the Spiced Vinaigrette

• Extra virgin olive oil is the base of the vinaigrette, adding richness and balancing the tartness of the apple cider vinegar. I like a smooth and buttery olive oil, like Nocellara, for this salad.
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• Apple cider vinegar is tangy with a hint of the apples that make it a perfect fit for this autumnal salad. You can substitute sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar if you prefer.
• Honey: A small amount of honey sweetens the dressing, balancing the vinegar and highlighting the sweetness of the fruit in the salad. You can substitute maple syrup if you prefer.
• Dijon mustard: Peppery Dijon mustard pairs perfectly with apple cider vinegar, and it also helps to emulsify the vinaigrette.
• Spices: Cumin adds an earthy depth to the vinaigrette. A little bit of cinnamon adds some warm spice that complements the winter produce. Go easy, though; too much could risk it tasting too sweet.
• Salt and pepper: Salt and freshly ground black pepper enhance the other flavors in the salad.

How to Make Persimmon Salad

Toasting the pepitas and quick-pickling the shallots adds to the prep time, but what you get back in flavor is more than worth it. Here’s how to make this colorful persimmon salad:

• Pickle the shallots. In a small bowl, add the sliced shallot and apple cider vinegar and toss to coat. Let the shallots soak in the vinegar for 10 to 15 minutes while prepping the salad ingredients.
• Toast the pepitas. Toast the pepitas in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned and fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer them to a bowl or plate and set aside to cool.
• Make the vinaigrette. Remove the shallots from the bowl of apple cider vinegar and reserve. You will use them later. To the bowl with the apple cider vinegar, add the honey, Dijon mustard, cumin, cinnamon, salt, and black pepper, and whisk to combine. Whisk in the olive oil until the dressing is thick and emulsified.
• Assemble the salad. In a large bowl, add the baby greens, persimmons, pepitas, and pomegranate seeds. Drizzle the dressing over it and toss with salad tongs to coat.
• Finish and serve. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter. Distribute the pickled shallots over the salad and sprinkle with more salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Best Persimmons for Salad

There are two main types of persimmon available: astringent and non-astringent. Hachiya and Fuyu are the most common of these two types, respectively.

• Hachiya Persimmons, which are larger, contain lots of tannins, which make the fruit taste terribly bitter until they’re fully ripe. Once they’re deep orangy red and feel like a water balloon, the flesh is soft enough to eat with a spoon and has a sweet honey flavor. This makes hachiya better suited to baking, like in persimmon bread.
• Fuyu persimmons, which are more squat, have a honey flavor that’s reminiscent of apple or apricot with a hint of spice, even while they’re firm and crisp. They have a pleasant texture somewhere between an apple and a tomato, and a sweet, but not cloying flavor, making them perfect for salads.

How to Make It Your Own

This persimmon salad mixes sweet fruit and bitter greens, tender and crunchy, and a spiced, tart dressing, but there’s plenty of room for swapping in your favorite ingredients. Try to maintain a varied mix of flavors and textures for a balanced and inviting salad. Here are some of my favorite swaps and additions you can try:

• Add cheese: Sometimes I like to add crumbled goat cheese, but you can add dollops of ricotta, or even shaved manchego cheese to this salad.
• Use different greens: I like tender baby greens, but you can mix in some more assertive winter greens, such as radicchio, endive, escarole, or frisée.
• Swap the pepitas: Instead of pepitas, sprinkle the salad with chopped toasted pecans, walnuts, pistachios, or almonds.
• Use a different fruit: Persimmon season is sadly fleeting. Outside of the season, you can substitute apples or pears for the persimmons.