Author Notes
Like most fruit, persimmons take well to roasting, which concentrates their natural sugars into a much more complex sweetness. Roasting can transform imperfect specimens (i.e., the persimmons available at my grocery store right now) into something really good. And roasting with brown butter...well, that makes about anything better in my opinion. To the brown butter, I added cinnamon, vanilla and a bit of maple syrup to create a sauce of sorts. It's a dead simple preparation that has many possibilities. You can serve as is, scatter some chopped pistachios or almonds on top, or serve with a big dollop of creme fraiche. Spoon over French toast or waffles. Or my personal favorite, ladle them generously over vanilla ice cream, making sure to get every last bit of sauce. —EmilyC
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Ingredients
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3 or 4 just-ripe Fuyu persimmons, peeled and cut into small wedges
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3 T unsalted butter
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2 T maple syrup (grade B)
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1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
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1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or half of a vanilla bean, seeds scraped)
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sea salt and lemon juice, to taste
Directions
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
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In a skillet just large enough to fit the persimmon wedges, melt butter over medium heat until it turns brown and nutty, about 5 minutes. Add the persimmon wedges, and cook, without moving, until they're lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Flip, and cook, without moving, until the other sides are lightly browned, another 3 minutes or so.
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In a small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla bean paste (or seeds from vanilla bean).
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Once the persimmon wedges are lightly browned, add the maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla to the skillet. Stir gently to evenly integrate with the brown butter.
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Transfer skillet to oven, and roast until the persimmons are tender and caramelized and the sauce is bubbling and starting to thicken, about 8 to 10 minutes. Total roasting time will depend on the ripeness of your persimmons, so take one out and sneak a taste to decide.
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Remove from oven, and finish with sea salt, to taste. (I also like adding a few drops of lemon juice for balance.) Serve warm. See headnote for serving suggestions.
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