Persimmon, Avocado & Pistachio Salad

Mango & Tomato is back with a sweet-nutty-creamy winter salad recipe with a bit of bite that’s a great way to celebrate fresh persimmon season when it comes around.

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I grew up eating persimmons. I absolutely love these brightly colored orange fruit. From afar they look like orange tomatoes or miniature pumpkins. Don’t be scared: pick them up next time you see them at your grocery store. But don’t wait too long: they are typically only available during the winter months.

There are several shapes and varieties of persimmon. What matters most is that they are ripe: if they aren’t, they’ll be off putting. How can you tell if persimmons are ripe? They will be brightly colored and somewhat soft. But make sure that their skin is free of black blemishes.

So you’ve ventured out and bought a few persimmons. What to do now? I like eating them as is, although in the past I’ve baked persimmon muffins. On Sunday I was doing my regular grocery shopping and noticed that persimmons were on sale (1 for $0.99); so were avocados and pistachios. All of a sudden I had an idea: why not combine all these ingredients in a salad? {I’ve also had avocados and pistachios on my mind after a great meal at Cork Wine & Bar featuring avocado, pistachios, toasted pistachio oil and sea salt on grilled bread.}

I also wanted to add some Cara Cara oranges, but my store was out of them.

Persimmon, avocado & pistachio salad

Ingredients (I trust you can decide on the amount of each yourself)
fuyu persimmon, sliced
avocado, sliced
red onion, thinly sliced
salad greens
olive oil
salt
shelled pistachios

Directions
1. Drizzle salad greens with olive oil and season with salt.
2. Arrange all the other ingredients on top of the salad greens. {You can also just mix the entire salad together.}

I happen to think the combination of green and orange colors is absolutely gorgeous. More importantly, the flavors mixed really well together. So did the textures: you have your creamy avocado and crunchy pistachios; bright and dense sweet persimmons and light salad greens. What’s not to like?

I realize this is not your typical lettuce, tomato and crouton salad, but why not try something different?