Winter Persimmon Salad with a Lemon Vinaigrette

January is a time for new beginnings especially this year since it’s the first month of the decade. Probably the most common New Year’s resolution is getting healthy and fit. That was my resolution last year, and I am proud to say that I kept it up all year. The key to sustaining this healthier lifestyle was making small adjustments throughout the year to make sure I wasn’t doing too much too fast. My biggest changes last year were reducing my meat consumption to once a day and incorporating more plant based dishes into my diet. This Winter Persimmon Salad is one dish I loved so much, I just had to share on the blog. It’s a completely vegetarian dish that has fresh veggies with sliced persimmons and heirloom tomatoes, topped with a simple lemon vinaigrette made with Filippo Berio Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Why Filippo Berio olive oil is so good

Filippo Berio is a new olive oil brand to me, and I’ve been a huge fan since opening my first bottle last month. I use it for just about everything from making eggs to topping off my pasta. What I love about Filippo Berio is that they value quality above all else. All their products are sourced from the best olive oil producing countries. They then blend their olive oils, so they taste absolutely perfect. And they’ve been doing this for 150 years ever since their founder Filippo Berio started making his own olive oils in 1867!

Why I love olive oil

I use olive oil pretty much all the time. It’s traditional to use vegetable oil or some kind of neutral oil for Asian cooking, but I find that olive oil works just as well. I also like the flavor it imparts to my food. This is especially true when I make noodle dishes or sautes.

Ingredients for my winter persimmon salad

• Persimmons – Persimmons are in season right now, and I love the subtle sweetness they add to this salad. Make sure to slice them thinly. I used fuyu persimmons because they are sweeter and firmer than hachiya persimmons.
• Heirloom Tomatoes – You can use any type of tomatoes for this salad, but I personally liked using small heirloom tomatoes because they are colorful and tasty.
• Almonds – I used thinly sliced almonds that were pre-sliced to reduce the amount of cutting I needed to do. Feel free to use whole almonds for this recipe.
• Fried Shallots – This ingredient adds crunchy texture to the salad. I usually keep a jar of fried shallots handy in my kitchen. You can buy a jar from Asian grocery stores.
• Lemon Juice – Lemon juice adds a brightness to the salad dressing. This recipe calls for a tablespoon of lemon juice which equals the juice of 1 lemon.

Making this winter persimmon salad

The salad is seriously so easy to make, which is what I love most about it. When I make it, it only takes me about 10 minutes including cutting, mixing, and everything. First add all the ingredients for the salad dressing into a small bowl. Whisk it all together until well mixed and set aside. Next, add all the ingredients for the salad into a large bowl or large plate. Drizzle salad dressing over the top and serve!

Choose the correct persimmons for this recipe

There are 2 types of persimmons: fuyu and hachiya. Fuyu persimmons look short and squat while hachiya persimmons are taller. I chose to use fuyu persimmons for recipes that require the fruit to hold its shape like in this recipe or my persimmon salsa. Hachiya persimmon in comparison are mushy when ripe. A great recipe with hachiya persimmons is persimmon bread.

Did you make this dish?

If you made this dish, I would love to see!

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