About the Recipe
The kaki (which you may know as a persimmon or Sharon fruit) is a winter fruit which makes it ideal for a winter salad dish. (Yes, you should eat salad in winter too!) Paired with avocado and parma ham and drizzled with a balsamic glaze, it takes salad to another level.
Ingredients
120g / 4oz salad leaves
1/3 large aubergine/eggplant
1/2 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper
10 baby tomatoes, rinsed
1 avocado
1 kaki / persimmon
5 large slices of parma ham
100ml / 3.5floz balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp honey
Preparation
first, rinse salad leaves. (any salad leaves will do - I used a mix of red and green lettuce.)
cut the piece of aubergine / eggplant in half longways and then slice the two halves. then, cut the slices in half again. soak the pieces in water for about 10 minutes to remove the slightly bitter flavour of the flesh
to make the balsamic glaze, measure 100ml / 3.5floz of balsamic vinegar into a small pan. add the honey and boil for about 5 minutes, until it has reduced to about 2/3rds of the original amount
prepare a medium frying pan with 1/2 tbsp of olive oil over a medium heat. add the aubergine / eggplant pieces and season with a little salt & pepper. fry until slightly coloured and softened which should take 3 - 4 minutes
slice all the baby tomatoes in half
cut the avocado in half and remove the stone. peel and then slice the halves into 7 - 8 slices each
cut off the top from the kaki / persimmon and peel, then cut the fruit into quarters. remove the white core from the four quarters and then cut into chunks
cut the parma ham slices into thirds. roll each piece into a little parcel
to plate up, make a bed of salad leaves on each plate. add the aubergine / eggplant, avocado, parma ham, kaki/persimmon pieces and tomatoes
last, dress with your balsamic glaze