From Chef Ashley Rella
This is a great recipe to help use up two of those crops coming in right now. If you don’t have any growing at home, be sure to check out local producers from High Spring Orchard and Bakery, Frog Song Organics, and Siembra Farms, Softer persimmons like Haichau or Sajio can be used but you may need to adjust seasonings. Hungry for more? Here’s the recipe.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons ghee, clarified butter
1 small yellow onion, chopped
4 Fuyu or other hard persimmon chopped (approximately 3 cups)
1 large butternut squash, peeled and chopped, approximately 3 cups (any hard winter squash will substitute)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
½ teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 bay leaf
2 cups chicken/vegetable broth
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for garnish
Fresh garlic chives and heavy (or coconut) cream, to garnish
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- In a large Dutch oven or stockpot, sauté onion, persimmon, and squash, on medium heat with ghee until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add spices, bay leaf, and garlic; toast for 30 seconds to open up the fragrance of the spices, taking care not to burn the garlic.
- Add vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and turn down to simmer for 20 minutes or until squash is soft.
- Discard the bay leaf. Use an immersion blender to blend everything to a silky-smooth texture, or blend the soup in batches if using a regular blender.
- Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper, if needed. Garnish the soup with fresh chives and drizzle cream and olive oil on top. Serve immediately.
*note if it is too sweet you can add a little apple cider vinegar to help balance the flavors
