Persimmon & oat crumble
grownandgathered
This recipe also uses hazelnuts traded for our wild flowers by some lovely people who came to our workshop with Little Bird Organics at Kelmarna City Farm while we were in Auckland. So we dedicate this recipe to them, the Little Bird Organics team and all those who attend our Auckland workshops - you are all amazing.
If you’re somewhere where persimmons are in season, this is the way to celebrate them. For years I have struggled with persimmons due to their bizarre texture (yes, I have a few texture issues). But thanks to our recent trip to Auckland and the abundance of persimmons we found ourselves with, I have found a way to fully embrace this king of the Winter fruits.
Whenever we travel, we like to experience the culture to it's fullest - food, people, the lot. We search for local produce and farmers and learn about what’s abundant around us.The biggest thing we noticed was that Aucklander’s really expressed how hard they found it to buy local and seasonal produce. But once we got a bit out of the city, we discovered so many amazing things – they are just all a bit discrete, maybe because people are hiding on their farms or because of the large export industry that is NZ. Either way, you can find it.One of our favourite finds was this persimmon farm, all organic, amazingly cared for, espaliered on a Tatura Trellising System and full of fruit. It was a PYO kind of day, so for $2/kg we loaded up.
Image: Aimee Finlay
Normally at home we dry persimmons and use them as a wonderful temperate growing replacement for dates. But as we were travelling we had to eat them as they ripened. We made so many recipe variations as we went, but this was our favourite.
So this recipe is about the full embrace of the persimmon. A manly embrace.
Field notes:
On persimmons
Persimmon varieties can be divided into two categories: astringent and non-astringent.
Astringent varieties are ripe when they have almost turned to jelly and have taken on a slight translucency. You usually buy them hard and ripen them at home which can take up to 2 weeks.
Non-astringent varieties are more like a stone fruit, they are ready when just soft and can be eaten straight off the tree. We've tried this recipe with both kinds and both are equally magnificent!
On nuts
Nuts are awesome for you, but they are being consumed in unnaturally large quantities at the moment as nut milks and butters. Not only does this encourages nuts being shipped around the world in quantities never before seen but also us eating them out of balance for our bodies.
To crack 1 cup of nuts takes around 15 minutes, at which point you'll be well over it. We encourage everyone to buy nuts in-shell as it really slows you down! Eat just a small amount of nuts each day and source them locally. It's the way it's always been.
Recipe:
Serves 4 // Time 50 mins
60 mins if cracking your own nuts*
METHOD
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius
- Grease a small oven proof dish (approx. 20cm in diameter) with butter or olive oil.
Filling
Place all ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer on low for 5-10 minutes, until persimmons just start to fall apart.
The crumble
Combine nuts and oats in a food processor and blitz for 5 seconds (not longer!), so that some oats stay whole and some are blitzed a little. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
Combine
Place filling in greased dish, then evenly spread crumble mixture on top. Place in the oven and cook for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.Serve with some fresh persimmon and fresh cream if desired. Good hot or cold
N.B.
- You can adapt the recipe by replacing the persimmons with any other fruit in season.
- To de-skin freshly cracked hazelnuts boil in 2 cups of water with 3 tablespoons of baking soda for 3 minutes, then wash under cold water and the skins will peel off easily.
INGREDIENTS
The crumble
¼ cup of hazelnuts (or another good nut)
1 cup of freshly rolled oats
50g of butter, melted (or if you are somewhere tropical, you can replace with coconut oil)
Pinch of sea salt
1 tbsp unprocessed honey
Filling
5 persimmons, peeled and cut into chunks
1 tsp cinnamon
A pinch of nutmeg / ¼ teaspoon
P.S. If you are in Auckland and want directions to the persimmon farm we talk about here, send us an email and we will try to direct you!