If there’s one chef who has always really represented seasonal cooking to me, it’s Suzanne Goin, chef-owner of LA’s Lucques and A.O.C. The combo of persimmon and pomegranate shows up in both Sunday Suppers at Lucques
Here’s the thing about persimmons. In a Japanese household, drying Hachiya persimmons is a winter tradition. Our Auntie Mary used to send boxes of hoshigaki down around the holidays, and to a kid, there’s nothing weirder than dried, chewy brown fruit that looks like it’s started to mold. The powdery white bloom on them is actually sugar. While I don’t know that I’ve changed my mind about hoshigaki, I can say, I’ve turned a corner on persimmons in general.
The more tear-shaped Hachiya need to ripen until very soft and that texture has never been my thing. People call it “custard-like” but I’ve found with a lot of fruit, when you try to describe a mushy texture as custard-like, there’s something lost in translation. No matter how you try to convince yourself, it’s not actually like a pudding.
The other major commercially available variety, the Fuyu, is where it’s at for those not totally sure about persimmons. The fruit, which looks more like a tomato, will be firm when ripe. Go for the ones with a deep, even orange color. It will be sweet with a slight brown sugar-like flavor, which plays well with the slight sweet-tartness of the pomegranate. It’ll change your mind.
Delicata Squash Flatbread w/ Pomegranate & Persimmon
Ingredients
- 1 pizza dough ball (from a batch of Kenji's NY Style Pizza dough - http://bit.ly/KJNYdo)
- 1 ~1 lb. delicata squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/4 inch rings
- 1 T. olive oil
- salt & pepper
- 1/3 c. pomegranate arils
- ~ 1/3 c. finely diced fuyu persimmon
- 2 T. finely diced Asian pear (optional)
- 2-3 T. crumbled blue cheese
- 2 T. chopped cilantro
Instructions
One hour before baking, take dough out of the refrigerator and let sit on the counter.
Preheat oven to 400F.
Toss delicata squash in a medium bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes, until a knife slides in easily.
In a small bowl, mix together persimmon, pomegranate arils and Asian pear, if using.
Turn oven up to 550F.
Stretch pizza dough into a ~12 inch x 6 inch rectangle.
Arrange squash slices in rows on the dough with an eye to how they'll slice into individual squares.
Bake for 4-5 minutes until the crust is browned.
Let cool for 1-2 minutes, then top with persimmon-pomegranate mixture. Dot with blue cheese crumbles and cut into squares.
