Persimmon Cocktails & Apps: How to use persimmon in your winter menu

I’ve always felt it was unfair to persimmons that clementines got most of the attention during the winter season. Holidays in my house usually meant a steady supply of clementine boxes, but persimmons weren’t in our reperatorie. But it’s time for that to change.

We were recently treated to a cooking class featuring savoury appetizers and cocktails that highlighted the bold flavour of the Kaki persiMon hailing from Spain, in the heart of the Ribera Del Xuquer Valley.

Ready-to-eat persiMons are seedless, have a bold, bright, sweet flavour, and are in season from October to January. The sweetness compliments a salty, savoury meal, or the bitterness of alcohol making it a versatile ingredient for your menus.

As the foodservice industry continues to work with changing guidelines (at the time of writing this, Ontario is preparing to go into lockdown), having an exciting, attractive, and seasonal food and drink menu is essential as customers seek out opportunities to enjoy your food in their home.

To demonstrate how restaurateurs can leverage this adaptable ingredient, we have two recipes – a cocktail and savoury app. Though the holidays may look different this year, households are still gathering and in need of holiday cheer. Take advantage of this moment and capture their attention with new flavours.

Kaki persiMon® Ginger Fizz Cocktail Recipe

Servings: 1 cocktail

Cocktail Ingredients:

● 2 ounces gin
● ¾ ounce persimmon simple syrup (recipe below)
● 2 tbsp egg white
● ½ tsp lemon juice
● Ginger beer, to top
● Orange bitters, to finish
● Persimmon and star anise, to finish
● Ice, to shake

Persimmon Simple Syrup Ingredients:

● 1 cup sugar
● 1 cup water
● 1 Kaki persiMon®, chopped

Persimmon Simple Syrup Method:

1. Boil all ingredients fon medium-high heat for 5 minutes
2. Remove from heat and let cool
3. Add syrup to blender and blend on high for 2 minutes
4. Strain completely using cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer
   Cocktail
5. Add first four ingredients to a cocktail shaker
6. Shake well for 30 seconds, or until ingredients are combined
7. Add ice to fill half of the shaker and vigorously shake for 1 minute, or until
   chilled through
8. Pour into a glass and top with a splash of ginger beer and a few shakes of
   bitters
9. Garnish star anise and Kaki persiMon® slice
10. Enjoy!

persiMon Puff Pastry Tart by Chef Christine Cushing

8 servings

Puff Pastry Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups (375 ml) all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp (2.5 ml) salt
• ½ cup (125 ml) cold water
• ¾ cup (200 g) unsalted butter, cut into thin pieces and chilled
• OR – 1lb (500g) frozen puff pastry

Tart Ingredients:

• 2 whole persiMon, thinly sliced into wedges
• ¼ cup (50 ml) sugar
• 2 tbsp (15ml) apple jelly
• 2 tbsp (25 ml) pomegranate juice
• ½ cup (125 ml) almonds, thinly sliced
• Several sprigs thyme, optional

Puff Pastry Method:

1. Combine flour and salt in a bowl
2. Add in the cold butter and turn onto board
3. With a rolling pin work flour with butter until well blended
4. Transfer back to the bowl and add in cold water
5. Stir with fork until it just comes together
6. Knead briefly to make a semi-smooth dough
7. Pat dough into a flat 1-inch thick rectangle
8. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes
9. Roll the dough into a 5 by 12-inch rectangle. Keep it even.
10. Rotate the dough so it is horizontal. Fold the right side into the center then fold the left side to the center
11. Now fold dough in half. That is now a completed full turn
12. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour
13. Repeat the full turn, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes
14. Cut dough in ½ and save remaining dough for another tart

Tart Method:

1. Preheat oven to 410 ° F
2. Roll out pre-made dough or store bough to 1/4-inch thickness and cut a 10-inch
3. circle out of the pastry
4. Cut slits around edges of the dough and turn inwards to form a crust
5. Place the dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for 15 minutes
6. Remove from the freezer and sprinkle the dough with half the sugar
7. Arrange persiMon slices in a fan shape on the dough
8. Sprinkle with remaining sugar
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes
10. While tart is baking, mix apple jelly and pomegranate juice together and add to a
11. pan on medium heat
12. Cook until jelly and juice have reduced to a glaze
13. Remove tart from oven and brush with glaze
14. Sprinkle the edge with almonds and arrange thyme leaves
15. Bake the tart for an additional 5-8 minutes or until golden and glossy