Arugula Persimmon Salad
on Dec 10, 2024
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This easy persimmon salad is a fantastic mix of sweet, tart and savory flavors. It has pomegranate seeds, toasted walnuts, crumbled goat cheese and baby arugula. Tossed in maple lemon vinaigrette, this is a beautiful salad for fall-winter weeknight dinners or holiday meals.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This salad has an incredible contrast of textures and flavors. There are crisp bites of persimmons, juicy pomegranate seeds, peppery arugula, toasted nuts and creamy goat cheese. Everything works really well together.
If you’ve never tried persimmons or not known what to do with them, start with this easy salad. It might be just me, but I look at a persimmon and my brain goes to the complete opposite of what they actually taste like. Despite their bold color and eye-catching shape, Fuyu persimmons are mild. You can even eat them like an apple.
It is always a win when you get lots of color into a fall or winter salad. Too often during the cold months it can feel like nothing good is in season, but that’s not true. Don’t let the chill in the air get you down about seasonal vegetables and fruits. Make the most of what’s available.
What Are Persimmons?
Originally from China, persimmons are a fruit that grows on trees and are in season during fall and winter. They are yellow-orange-red in color and have a mild flavor with subtle cinnamon and mango notes.
There are 2 varieties of persimmons: Fuyu and Hachiya. Fuyus look like a medium-sized tomato. They are squat with a flat bottom and a leafy top. When you cut into a Fuyu, it’s crisp and juicy like an apple with thin skin. That’s why they are wonderful for salads.
In contrast, Hachiyas look like an acorn with a pointed bottom. They are soft on the inside. When you cut them in half, you can scoop out the custard-like flesh with a spoon. They are sweeter than crunchy Fuyu persimmons and better for baking or even blending into smoothies.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Fuyu persimmons: Again, it is important that you buy Fuyu rather than Hachiya persimmons. In season, you usually can find them at the grocery, and not just Whole Foods and other speciality stores. I see them at regular supermarket chains. Persimmons should feel heavy for their size and not have any soft spots.
- Pomegranate seeds give the salad nice tartness. You can buy a pomegranate and take out the seeds yourself or buy the seeds in a container.
- Baby arugula has a pleasantly peppery bite. I love that contrast with the sweet and tart flavors of the rest of the ingredients. Baby spinach or mixed greens are other options. You also can swap and use chopped kale if you want a heartier lettuce.
- Goat cheese: I let the goat cheese crumbles sit out at room temperature for 15 minutes before tossing them into the salad. Then you get that lovely creaminess in each bite of the salad as it melds into the dressing. You can substitute with feta for a more salty cheese.
- Walnuts: Make sure to toast the walnuts for 5-7 minutes on a sheet pan in a 350-degree F oven. This brings out their nuttiness. You can use almonds or toasted pecans instead of walnuts.
- Red onions are one of my favorite salad onions because they add nice sharpness without overpowering everything else.
- Parsley: I add chopped fresh herbs to the salad to layer in more flavor.
- Maple lemon vinaigrette is a fall-winter citrus dressing. It has minced garlic, whole grain mustard, kosher salt, black pepper, maple syrup, fresh lemon juice, red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. You can use sherry vinegar as a substitute.
How To Make This Persimmon Salad Recipe
1. Cut the persimmons. Thinly slice off the bottom of each persimmon. Then continue making thin slices. Cut those rounds into quarters.
2. Combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl (except the arugula). That includes the persimmon slices, pomegranate seeds, red onions, goat cheese, walnuts and parsley. I wait to add the greens, so they don’t get overdressed in the vinaigrette and overwhelmed by everything else
3. Make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, whisk the garlic, mustard, maple syrup, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.
4. Drizzle half the vinaigrette into the salad and toss gently.
5. Fold in the arugula. Add more dressing as desired.
Serving
You can serve this as an entree salad or a side salad. It is great for a holiday meal like Thanksgiving or Christmas. If you are eating it as a main dish, you can add a protein such as chicken, shrimp or salmon. To keep the salad vegetarian, but add something else to it, toss in diced avocados and/or tofu.
Leftovers & Storage
This salad is best eaten right after you make it. Leftovers tend to soften pretty quickly in the fridge, but you can save them up to 2 days in an airtight container. If you know you are not going to eat all the salad in one sitting, wait to mix in the arugula, goat cheese and dressing until you are going to serve the salad, and store them separately.
Recipe Tips
- You can make the vinaigrette up to 2 days in advance. Keep it in a mason jar in the refrigerator and let it sit out at room temperature for 15 minutes before using it to give the oil a chance to turn into liquid again.
- If you can’t find persimmons, you can use apples. Go with a crisp variety like Pink Lady or Honeycrisp apples.
- Use fresh lemon juice and pure maple syrup in the vinaigrette for the best flavor. Bottled citrus juice has all sorts of preservatives and unnecessary ingredients. Just buy a lemon.
More Fall & Winter Salad Recipes
Mandarin Orange Kale Salad
Roasted Vegetable Couscous Salad
Kale Sweet Potato Salad
Roasted Squash Salad
Butternut Squash Salad
Quinoa Broccoli Salad
Napa Cabbage Salad
Kale Quinoa Salad
Moroccan Carrot Salad
Fennel Orange Salad
Orange Beet Pear Salad
Arugula Persimmon Salad
Ingredients
For salad
- 4 Fuyu persimmons
- 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese*
- 1/3 cup toasted chopped walnuts
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 3 cups baby arugula
For vinaigrette
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- To cut the persimmons, thinly slice off the bottom. Then continue making thin slices in rounds. Cut them into quarters.
- Combine the persimmons, pomegranate seeds, red onions, goat cheese, walnuts and parsley in a large bowl.
- For the vinaigrette, whisk the garlic, mustard, salt, pepper, maple syrup, lemon juice, red wine vinegar and olive oil in a small bowl.
- Drizzle about half the dressing into the salad, tossing to combine.
- Fold in the arugula, adding more dressing as desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
