Persimmons Dehydrated

PERSIMMON RECIPES: 

Stuffed Acorn Squash with Quinoa and Persimmons     Savory and satisfying, filled with bright autumn flavors. A terrific side or main dish, especially if you’re serving vegetarians or vegans for a fall feast.

I loved the idea of taking these in a savory direction, using them as part of the filling for an acorn squash stuffing. This could also be used to stuff butternut squash. If you can’t find persimmons, apples or pears would be a nice alternative.

Makes 4 main course servings or 8 side servings (double or triple the recipe if needed) 

1 acorn squash ~ ½ C. (90 g) red quinoa ~   2 small persimmons (about 3/4 C. [100 g] chopped) ~ 1/2 C. (65 g)  ~ Swiss chard 1/4 C. (30 g) ~ pine nuts 1/2 C. (50 g) ~ Daiya dairy-free cheese or parmesan ~ 3 sage leaves (1/2 t. [1 g] dried sage) 1/2 t. (1 g) ~ sea salt 1/4 t. (0.5 g) ~ chipotle chili powder ~ 1/4 t. (0.5 g) ~ cumin 1/4 t. (0.5 g) ~ white pepper

Preheat the oven to 350F. Wash the squash, then slice off each end. Cut in half. (It’s a little easier to cut them in half lengthwise, but the finished dish looks more like an acorn if you cut it crosswise as pictured.) Scoop out the seeds using a grapefruit spoon (GREAT tool for many things). Put the seeds in a small bowl of water.

Place the squash cut-side down in a non-toxic, grapeseed oiled, baking pan. Bake 30-40 minutes or until soft. Leave the oven on.

While it is baking, remove all the stringy bits of the squash from the seeds and rinse them clean. Place in a small saucepan with a cup of filtered water and 2-3 t. of sea salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Drain.

Rinse and drain the quinoa, then add 1 C. (250 ml) water or vegetable broth (add 1/2 t. (5 g) miso if using water). Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for 15 minutes on low. Turn off and let sit, then fluff with a fork.

Chop the chard and place in a large bowl. Core the persimmons and chop into a 1/2” dice. Add to the bowl. Mince the sage leaves. Add the pine nuts, cooked quinoa, cheese, spices, and stir to mix.

When the squash is cooked, put the baking pan on your work counter (on a towel or hot pads) and flip the squash right-side up. Using a fork to hold it steady, scoop out the cooked squash with a grapefruit spoon, adding it to your filling bowl. Be careful not to poke through the skin. Leave about 1/2 inch of flesh inside.

Mix the squash evenly into the filling, then taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Pack it into a rounded 1 cup measure  and invert it into the squash halves. You will have nearly two cups of filling per half. Put the squash seeds in one corner of the pan, adding a small amount of olive oil and some smoked paprika. Stir to coat the seeds.

Bake for 30-45 minutes until the filling is hot and the cheese is melted. Top with the toasted seeds and a drizzle of garlic olive oil. Cut each half in half to serve four as a main dish, or in eighths as a side.

Persimmon Date Bread

Rich and spicy, with a hint of gingerbread. Decadent topped with cream cheese or tofu cream cheese. The boyfriend said, “Incredible! Melts in your mouth!”

Indgredients:  Makes 10 slices 1¾ C. (225 g) sifted GF flour (Bob’s Red Mill GF All-purpose baking flour) 2 t. (4 g) baking powder 1 t. (2 g) baking soda ½ t. (1 g) PINK salt ½ t. (1 g) cinnamon ½ t. (1 g) ginger ¼ t. (0.5 g) ground cloves ¼ t. (0.5 g) nutmeg 1 C.  (150 g) persimmons (about 2) 1 C. (130 g) dates 1 C. (125 g) walnuts ½ C. (65 g) carrot pulp or grated carrots (optional)  ½ C. (125 ml) maple syrup 1 t. (5 ml) vanilla 2 T. (30 ml) olive oil ½ C. (125 ml) hemp, rice, or almond milk ~ 1Tbsp organic unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 350°. Prep your loaf pan by cutting a large piece of parchment paper, pushing it inside and creasing it to fit. Then spray it with cooking spray. (Yes, you could skip this step and just grease the pan really well. But I LOVED how this came out of the pan so easily, with no pan cleanup, and you can wipe the paper with a sponge and reuse it. I will be using this technique for any quick bread in the future.)

Sift together flour, soda, baking powder, salt and spices and place in a large bowl.

Peel the persimmons with a peeler or paring knife, leaving as much flesh as possible. Remove the core and chop into ½” dice. Chop the dates and the walnuts into similar-sized pieces. Grate the carrots if using. (I have a juicer, so I just set aside some carrot pulp that day.)

Add the syrup, vanilla, butter, and milk to the bowl. Mix well using a spatula to get the dry bits up off the bottom. When everything is incorporated, add the persimmons, dates, walnuts, and carrots (if using). Spoon the mixture into a loaf pan and smooth the top. Put into the oven on a center rack.

Check after 35 minutes. If the top seems to be getting brown, cover loosely with foil. The inside of the bread still needs 25 minutes to cook through (60 minutes total). When done, pull out of the pan using the paper and let cool completely on a wire rack.