Citrus Fall salad anyone?

A Citrus Salad for Fall

1 Vanilla Persimmon

1 Yellow Beet

1 Shallot

1/3 Pomegranate Deseeded

½ C Spinach

4 Stalks Purple Kale

1/3 Red Cabbage

½ Pint Gooseberries

1 Red Grapefruit

1 Pakistan Sweet Lime

1/3 Celery Root

½ Milk

½ Cream

2 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar

Salt

Pepper

1/3 C Olive Oil

Canola Oil

1/2 Tbsp Honey

From left to Right: Red Grapefruit, Sweet Lime,(top) Persimmon, Vanilla Persimmon, Pomegranate

Hey everyone! It’s fall and soon to be winter but that doesn’t mean that we need to stop eating those lovely little citrus fruits just because it’s a different season. Last week I went shopping for the house and ran into a few good looking produce in the market, so I decided to go back the following day. I knocked up a list of things I wanted, and figured I would make a really nice salad that was refreshing using fall fruit and vegetables. Please keep in mind I had never used some of these ingredients before and this was just supposed to be an experiment. Let’s get to it then.

Persimmon

So, I took a slice of all the things I had never eaten before. The Persimmon was quite interesting, it had a really mellow mango like taste and glowed a bright glossy orange on the outside and a dull matte orange on the inside. It was weird, it almost had the shape of a tomato and the texture of an apple.

Next was a Pakistan Sweet Lime, it was a bit bigger than your average lime and wasn’t as green. You know when limes start to lose their pigment of green and get a slight yellow tinge? That was the color of it. I sliced it, they tasted like a ball of honey in the skin of a lime, sweet but not overpowering. I gave a slice to my girlfriend and she looked at me in shock, like she had just tasted a bit of magic. Her eyes opened up wide, then she asked me “did they put sugar in the soil?” I almost died from laughter but I couldn’t blame her.

Let’s get into the details now as to how this yummy salad came together. I got everything together and one by one I prepped each ingredient. The Persimmons I put on their side and cut them into really thin slices, so they looked like disks. Once I couldn’t slice anymore, I placed the cap of the fruit on the board and sliced the sides. Now we have semi circles and full circles of this fruit, just to keep it a little exciting.

The Golden Beet will take the longest to cook. About an hour in the oven (feel free to boil it if you want) I seasoned mine with salt and pepper, drizzled some oil over it and covered it with foil. I baked it at 400⁰F for 1 hour then took a towel or paper towels and peeled it while it was still hot/warm. I cut them into segments and placed them on the side in a container.

Cooked Celery Root

Take your Celery Root and peel it, either with a peeler or shave off what you want from the whole root with a knife then cut it. Place root in a pot. Now I have half cream and milk in the recipe. You want the liquid to just cover the celery root. So you’re going to pour the milk half way and the other half with cream to cover the celery. Add a pinch of salt and boil until soft. When they are done, put the Celery Root in a blender then pour just enough cooking liquid to cover it and puree. You want to pour just enough canola oil to turn the puree almost white and help with the texture. Taste! Taste! Taste!

The shallot I put on its side like the Persimmon and sliced it. I picked through the spinach leaves and chose the smallest leaves in the bunch, I washed them then put them in a container with tissue. I did a similar process with the kale but instead I took the leaves off the stalk and chose the appropriate sizes for my salad. The red cabbage was also easy to prep. I just cut a third off of what I had and just sliced those fairly thin so it had a shredded look to it. The gooseberries were sliced in half.

Gooseberries

Now, the grapefruit and lime. I’m not sure how you peel your citrus but I cut the top and bottom so it can stand upright. I then run my knife down the sides along the body. This takes off the skin and any bitterness, and will help to segment the pieces. I then segmented it, kept half as they were and took the other pieces and just cut into tiny dices. Do the same for the Sweet lime. Once you’ve finished that, please squeeze the juice from the remains of the fruits and keep them in containers.
Take your Pomegranate and slice horizontally in half. Don’t cut it all the way. Twist it and it shall open up. Then take a wooden spoon. Turn the Pomegranate seed side facing your bowl and hit the outer shell. The seeds should just start to fall out.

(top) Shaved Red Cabbage, (bottom) Rolled and Sliced Cabbage Leaf

The dressing was very quick and simple. Put the juices, diced segments into your bowl or container. Add the honey, then the vinegar, pour the olive oil and whisk. Don’t use all of the oil at once. It’s always better to have too little then adjust. Taste it, season it, there should be a nice balance between sweet and sour and not too sharp.

Mise en Place

In another bowl get all of your greens, segmented fruits, your cabbage, kale, beet root and shallots together. Pour your dressing over it and mix your salad so it’s well coated. I put the Persimmon disks on the plate then I placed the salad on top, then with the celery root puree I put little drops on the side and topped everything with the pomegranates. Over all it was a nice salad, I had my girlfriend try as well and she liked it. Give this salad a try, this was enough for maybe two people if you stretch it. You can adjust quantities for more guests and even make it a little bit more rustic and tweak it to your liking. Tell me how it is! Thanks a lot everyone for taking the time to read this recipe.

Finished Product

From a different perspective