Add Spanish Flair to Your Holiday Cooking with Persimon®

The holidays are all about family, fun and food. It is also the perfect time to switch up your regular holiday meal time favourites to enjoy the tastes of another culture. What better way to try something new then by adding some Spanish flair to your holiday table this year with Persimon® persimmons, a fruit that is grown in the Ribera del Xuquer Valley near Valencia, Spain.

The versatile Persimon® , given this name to distinguish it from other persimmons because of its characteristics which includes that it is ready to eat as soon as you buy it – no waiting for it to ripen. I thought it looked similar in appearance to a bell pepper or even a tomato but it has the sweet taste of a mango. They are completely seedless, pitless and do not require peeling (although some people may prefer to peel the skin similar to an apple).

This unique fruit is perfect to eat on cereal, yogurt, ice cream (my personal favourite!!) or even on a salad. It gives a Spanish flair to the every day, something I think we can all appreciate during the long, cold months when the regular routine becomes bland and boring. The Persimon® Says website is full of mouth-watering recipes for you to try (many of the ingredients you will find in your home so don’t worry about not having them on hand!).

Our family loves their bread (must be the Italian in us, we always have to have a loaf of bread at a meal or as a snack) so we couldn’t wait to try the crostini with Persimon® and manchego cheese. The recipe itself was incredibly simple needing only olive oil, spinach, baguette, Persimon® and manchego cheese. Instead of a wine reduction we drizzled the recommended apricot jam on top. It was a wonderful explosion of flavour when you bit in the crostini. You had the sweet with the taste of spinach and old cheese with the crusty bread. It was definitely a taste I have never experienced before but it was well worth it. The flavours combined to make an appetizer that we gobbled up right away. The crostini had such an amazing flavour to it that we just couldn’t resist!

Make sure you head into your local Food Basics or Sobeys to pick up a case of Persimon®  persimmons before it is too late – they are only around until mid-January. You can also follow Persimon® Says on Twitter to keep up to date with news, recipes and more.

How do you enjoy your Persimon® persimmons during the holiday baking season?