Persimmon Tapanade with Marcona Almonds

I fell so in love with Persimmons last week with our Persimmon, Pear & Fennel Salad with Fried Sage, that I decided to make a week of it!  A veritable, virtual Persimmon festival if you will.

Persimmons can be used like a sweet tomato

Persimmons are sweet with a hint of tart when they are ripe (when they are not ripe, they are downright mouth puckering).

With the bright orange color and sweet flavor + the necessity to bring an appetizer to a party we went to last week and the addition of my love of olives, I decided to make a tapanade.

I love the surprise flower inside a persimmon when you slice it open

Marcona Almonds are rounder then regular almonds with a rich flavor and generally blanched.

Olives and Persimmons

The key to a good tapanade is good olives – real, salt cured olives with a good green olive and a good black olive to round out the color and flavor profiles.  Don’t reach for canned or jarred olives – go to your local specialty shop and get the real thing.

Persimmon Tapanade with Marcona Almonds

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe Fuyu Persimmons
• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/3 cup Naturally Cured Olives – a good mix of green & black are delicious
• A handful of Italian Parsley
• 1/3 cup Marcona Almonds
• 1/4 cup Grape seed Oil
• Kosher Salt & Pepper to Taste

Method:

Chopped persimmons

Core, slice and then finely chop the Persimmons.  While you are at it, have a taste or two or three.  Put them in small glass or mixing bowl and sprinkle them with some kosher salt – around a 1/4 teaspoon if you care to measure; which I don’t.  Let them sit as you prep the other ingredients.  The salt will help draw out some of the juice and give your tapanade an extra sweetness.

Chop the Olives and Macrona Almonds fine – try to keep them approximately the same size as the chop on the Persimmons.  Add them to the bowl.

For a nice vegetal tang to balance out the salty and sweet chop the Italian Flat Leaf parsley (so much better than the curly parsley) into thin ribbons.  Or just chop the hell out of it – either way, and toss it in the bowl.

Add the Grape Seed Oil and give it a stir.   The oil will bind to the flavors and get them to cozy up to each other.  Now, take a taste or two and add salt and pepper if you need it.

Persimmon & Marcona Almond Tapanade

Let it sit for at least 30 minutes before serving – you’ll taste the difference! Serve with flat bread, crackers, or on a crostini.

Below, we used Kite Hill Cheese – Greg is every so slightly dairy intolerant and Kite Hill cheese is made with almond milk AND traditional cheese making techniques! Win-Win.

Serve with cheese, flatbread or crackers

Lydia, Reckless Persimmon Admirer