Yellow Tomato & Persimmon Salad

By Carol Dudar, Recipe & Food Styling

Photos By Above The Salt

Our Yellow Tomato And Persimmon Salad is a very special side dish for anytime of year.

The yellow tomato and oranges in the salad adds a pop of colour to the table and brightens your mood.

Make sure the persimmons are ripe—they should be very soft to the touch. Unripe firm ones can have a very tannic, almost bitter slightly unpleasant mouth experience. Their ripeness should be very similar to a very ripe tomato.

The yellow tomato and persimmon together are a lovely subtle combination of textures and flavours, highlighted by the orange slices cooked in the olive oil, and the sumac. The toasted hazelnuts add another level of richness and complexity to the dish.

Sumac is a middle Eastern spice with a slight tang almost citrus flavour. It can often be found in many grocery stores now but also specialty spice or middle Eastern shops.

I would highly suggest always having on hand now either lemon slices or orange slices poached in olive oil and kept in the fridge. They add a lovely velvety texture, and gentle sweet flavour to any vegetable or meat dish. I know I am going to start making them regularly!

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Health Benefits

  • Yellow tomatoes have more niacin and folate and red tomatoes have more vitamin B6 and pantothenic acid.
  • Persimmon is a good source of vitamin C (needed for the growth and repair of tissues in the body) and contains vitamin A (important for growth and development and the maintenance of your immune system).
  • With persimmons, you can enjoy a healthy snack that’s perfect in between meals without worrying about the amount of calories that you are taking in as one is only 70 calories.
  • Hazelnuts, like almonds, are free from gluten, and therefore, safe alternative food sources that can be employed in the preparation of gluten-free food formulas for gluten-sensitive, wheat allergic, and celiac disease patients
  • Hazelnuts are also rich source of minerals like manganese, potassium, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium. Copper and manganese are essential co-factors for antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Iron helps prevent microcytic-anemia. Magnesium and phosphorus are vital components of bone metabolism.

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RECIPE

(Makes 4-6 servings)

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 medium yellow tomatoes, sliced 1/8” thick slices
  • 2 medium persimmons, sliced 1/8” thick slices
  • 6 yellow cherry tomatoes, sliced into quarters or thirds
  • 2 tbsp fresh orange juice
  • 2 tbsp  extra virgin oil flavoured from the orange slices*
  • 1 tsp (5 ml) sumac
  • 8-10 pieces of poached orange slices*
  • 1 tbsp chives, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, crushed
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup of extra virgin oil
  • 1 orange, thinly sliced and each slice cut into quarters

DIRECTIONS

Poached orange slices

  1. In a small pot, put olive oil and orange and simmer on very low heat.
  2. Cook for 20-30 min, until orange peel is very soft.
  3. Let cool completely before using.

SALAD

  1. On a large platter or serving dish, layer the persimmon and tomato slices in an overlapping pattern.
  2. Top with the slices of cherry tomatoes, and the cooked orange slices.
  3. Whisk the orange juice, and the orange flavoured olive oil together and drizzle over the salad.
  4. Sprinkle with the chives, sumac, and hazelnuts over top of the salad.
  5. Season with the salt and pepper and serve.

Publisher’s Note: Carol Dudar is a Toronto based recipe developer and food stylist.

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