Pear Persimmon Salad with Maple Apple Cider Vinaigrette.

Also known as the salad I am eating every day until it's not longer persimmon season.

It is not a secret how much I adore persimmons. Especially of the Fuyu variety.

Such an underrated, versatile fruit. Fall's best fruit. And a wonderful fruit to use in salads like this pear and persimmon salad recipe.

I love using persimmons in everything from salads, to pastry, smoothies and cupcakes. I love to chop them up over oatmeal for breakfast as well.

I also just love eating them like an apple, for a snack or dessert.

You will always find a bowl of persimmons and pears on my kitchen counter all through fall and winter. They make me not miss the stone fruits of summer too much.

What ingredients are in this pear persimmon salad?

Salad greens - I went with a salad greens baby lettucs mix and arugula
Fuyu persimmons
Red d’Anjou pears - a firmer pear great for slicing into salads
Candied pecans - adds crunch with a little sweetness
Crumbled goat cheese - love using goat cheese in salads, adds a really nice tangy and creamy element

This pear persimmon salad is great for holidays as well for a quick to whip up salad full of flavor and seasonal produce. If you are looking for a last minute salad to make for Thanksgiving or Christmas, this is the salad to make.

The vinaigrette for this pear persimmon salad is super easy to make. Only a few ingredients that really enhance the flavor of the pears and persimmons.

I love to make quick, simple vinaigrettes for salads often. Sometimes I just whisk the ingredients together in a bowl, other times I will blend it up to make a smoother, more emulsified dressing.

I love using shallots in simple vinaigrettes and blending disperses their flavor better. I use a small magic bullet blender since the vinaigrette recipe isn't a huge amount. Although it can be easily doubled or tripled.

A few notes about this pear persimmon salad before the recipe:

Make sure you get the Fuyu variety of persimmon as seen here in these pics. They are a shorter, squat fruit that are more orange in color. Hachiya are more heart shaped with a pointed end, reddish in color and need to be squishy before they are ripe.
You can peel the persimmons if you like before slicing them up for the salad. Their peel is similar to an apple peel, but not everyone likes to eat fruit peels, no matter how thin.
I used red D'Anjou pears for this salad. Their flavor goes really well with the persimmon and I prefer their firmer texture when ripe. You can use any variety of pear you like ( Asian pears would be amazing here too) or you can even substitute apple if you don't care for pear
I used apple cider as well as apple cider vinegar in the vinaigrette. I feel using all vinegar leads to a very tart dressing. You can substitute apple juice for the cider if you want, just don't use all apple cider vinegar in place of the apple cider.

"Recipe"

Pear Persimmon Salad with Maple Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Shanna

Take advantage of some of winter's best fruit and throw it in a salad with some mixed greens, peppery arugula, crunchy candied pecans and creamy goat cheese. Topped with a sweet and tangy maple apple cider vinaigrette.

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Prep Time 20

Total Time 20

Servings 8 -10

Ingredients

For the Vinaigrette:

1 tablespoon shallot minced
2 teaspoon dijon mustard
¼ c apple cider can also use apple juice, cider is preferable
¼ c plus 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅔ cup olive oil high quality oil - I used Luigi Tega

For the Salad:

8-10 cups mixed greens and arugula washed well and dried
2-3 fuyu persimmons tops removed, sliced into wedges (you can peel the persimmons if you like)
2-3 red d’Anjou pears stem and core removed, thinly sliced
⅔ c candied pecans roughly chopped
2-3 ounces goat cheese

Instructions

For the vinaigrette:

Combine all of the vinaigrette ingredients in a blender and blend for a few minutes. Taste and add more cider, maple syrup or salt if desired.

For the salad:

Place the greens in a large serving bowl and top with persimmons ( I arranged 3-4 wedges together all over the salad), sliced pears ( arranged same as the persimmons), sprinkle with the candied pecans and crumbled goat cheese. Toss with half of the vinaigrette before serving. Add more toppings if desired into individual bowls as well as more vinaigrette. You will have leftover vinaigrette. This will last up to 2 weeks refrigerated in sealed jar such as a mason jar or salad dressing bottle.

Notes

You can use any kind of pear you want for this salad. I prefer the red D'anjou for color, taste and texture but feel free to swap out with what you like best. Asian pears would work well here too.

Make sure you get Fuyu persimmons (short, squat orange persimmons, ripe when still firm) and not the Hachiya ( more heart shaped, pointy end, and only ripe when super squishy)

You can make the vinaigrette ahead of time, keep chilled until ready to use.