Recipe: Persimmon and bacon salad with honey, lime and balsamic dressing

Sweet, smoky and tangy flavours combine in this seasonal persimmon salad. Photo / Olivia Moore

I look forward to persimmon season every year!

These fiery-coloured fruits have such a delicate floral flavour, which makes them suitable for a variety of uses.

While I love them most at their ripest; when they are sweet and almost custard-like, they are perfect as a crisp salad component when firm.

This salad combines sweet, smokey, salty and tangy flavours, and looks beautiful on the plate.

Use firm persimmons - you need to be able to thinly slice them - which will lend a nice crispness.

As for the bacon, I’ve used brisket bacon from Chop Online Meats - this is a hearty, thick-cut bacon with an intense smoky flavour and a nice bite.

Honey and balsamic is a combination that can never go wrong; lime adds a welcome brightness and floral note to complement the persimmon.

Persimmon and bacon salad with honey, lime and balsamic dressing

Serves 2-3 as a side

Ingredients

For the honey, lime and balsamic dressing

● 2 Tbsp honey

● 15g butter

● Juice and zest of ½ lime

● 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

● 1 small clove garlic, finely chopped

● 1/2 tsp salt

For the salad

● 125g thick cut bacon (I used brisket bacon)

● 75g spinach leaves, washed and roughly chopped

● 1 large firm persimmon, washed, halved and thinly sliced

● 1 small red onion, thinly sliced

● 100g ricotta

● 2 tsp sesame seeds

Method

1. Start by making the dressing. Heat the honey and butter together in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a bubble, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 2-3 minutes, whisking occasionally, until thickened slightly. Remove from heat and stir through the lime juice, balsamic vinegar, garlic and salt. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool completely.

2. Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook for 5-6 minutes, flipping halfway, until golden and crisp. Remove from heat and allow to cool on paper towels, before roughly chopping.

3. To assemble, arrange the spinach, persimmon, chopped bacon and red onion on a large serving platter. Evenly dollop over the ricotta, and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Drizzle over the dressing and serve immediately.

Olivia Moore and her Taupō business That Green Olive offer recipe development, food photography — in studio or on location — for restaurants and cafes, recipe video creation and social media content creation. Go to Olivia’s website for more recipes: www.thatgreenolive.com.

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