This appetizer is one of my favorites because it’s undeniably sophisticated yet incredibly quick to make—which is what I told Refinery29 when they came asking for my favorite holiday appetizers. Creamy chèvre is ideally paired with the round sweetness of fuyu persimmons, balanced by the tang of pomegranate molasses, and elevated with the texture and aromatics of flash fried sage leaves.
See? Sounds complex. Actually takes less than ten minutes.
Persimmons maintain a kind of mystery that some never venture to unravel. What is a persimmon, anyway? How do I know which ones to eat like an apple, and which ones will give me cotton mouth if I do that? I know. So many persimmon questions, so little time.
Let me help: While there are many persimmon varieties, the two most common are fuyu and hachiya. Hachiya are slightly conical in shape, and must only be eaten once soft. Their flesh can then be scooped out like pudding or compote—I like to scoop it into yogurt or chia pudding. Fuyu are squat and round, and can be bitten into even they’re hard. They can be sliced and eaten like a pear or apple, and used in all the same ways.
Ready? Set? Go go gadget persimmon goat cheese bites!
Ingredients
- 3 fuyu persimmons
- 3 oz . mild chèvre goat cheese
- pomegranate molasses to taste
- olive oil to taste
- sea salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 25-30 leaves fresh sage smaller ones preferred
- 2 tbsp olive oil for frying sage
Instructions
- Slice fuyu persimmons 1/4 inch thick and smear with mild chèvre goat cheese.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small frying pan. When oil starts to sizzle, drop in 15-20 small fresh sage leaves and fry for 20-30 seconds.
- Remove from heat, and use spoon to take sage leaves out of the oil. Place a crispy sage leaf on each persimmon bite.
- Drizzle lightly with pomegranate molasses (or balsamic reductioand sage-infused olive oil from the pan, and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. Serve.
