Chunky Fruit Vinaigrette, cook with what you have!

I bet this has happened to you also. You purchase specific ingredients and when you go to use them, they are now overripe, yikes what to do? Since I enjoy the creative challenge of cooking with what I have (and being remote as we camp host this winter), instead of tossing it into the compost or trash, that overripe persimmon became a delicious fruit vinaigrette, come and take a look at our Chunky Fruit Vinaigrette...

In keeping with our shopping routine of using fresh items first, we usually have a salad on shopping day. We love a simple side salad of sliced avocado with chunks of persimmon drizzled with rich Balsamic vinegar. While shopping last week I noticed that the produce department had received a lovely shipment of persimmons. I knew right away it was time to enjoy our fast and easy side salad one night real soon, so I placed one in the cart. Fast forward into the week with a busy schedule and household chores (trust me, household chores follow you in your RV, no matter where you travel or park!) when I went to make our salads, the persimmon was quite ripe. Deliciously soft, juicy and too ripe to cut and use in our favorite salad for dinner.

There was only one thing to do, create a vinaigrette using the persimmon and carry on with a salad as part of our dinner. So we did. I carefully peel the fruit and sliced it into a small bowl. It was so juicy I knew I would need to chop it into smaller pieces using kitchen scissors. Once chopped it was a simple task to add some olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. I loaded our salad plates with some of the spring mix we had picked up at the store, divided an avocado between the plates and spooned the Chunky Fruit Vinaigrette over the salads and we sat down to eat dinner together.

I realized as we enjoyed our salads that a many fruits will ripen to a soft stage just as the persimmon had. And many have the same soft texture that will lend itself to a fruit vinaigrette. Such as a kiwi, or a couple of apricots or a small peach. I also think a handful of raspberries or strawberries would make a great fruit vinaigrette as well. You can bet, we will give one or two of these a try in the upcoming months.

Some thoughts on this recipe:

Feel free to use the vinegar you prefer. Cider vinegar would work as well as white wine vinegar.

Often I will match the vinegar based upon the full or rich flavor of the fruit I am working with. Berries and persimmon would defiantly go well with a red wine vinegar. Kiwi and peaches or apricots would require a more mild flavored vinegar such as white wine vinegar,

Be generous with the salt and pepper, this is a salad dressing and you want it to be flavorful!

Ingredients needed for this recipe:

persimmon
olive oil
red wine vinegar
honey
salt
freshly ground pepper

You will also need the following:

kitchen knife
small bowl
measuring spoons
kitchen scissors

Now we are ready to begin!

Chunky Fruit Vinaigrette

by the seat of my pants!

makes enough for 2 salads

1 persimmon

1 T olive oil

1 T red wine vinegar

2 to 3 t honey

salt and pepper to taste

Peel and slice the persimmon into a small bowl.

Using kitchen scissors, mince the fruit into smaller pieces.

Stir in the remaining ingredients, stirring until the honey has melted into the other ingredients.

Spoon the vinaigrette generously over tossed greens and avocado slices. And enjoy!

Storage options for Chunky Fruit Vinaigrette. If you have any leftovers, store covered in the refrigerator. Use within three days.

UPDATE: For your convenience, a "copy and paste" version of Chunky Fruit Vinaigrette has been included below.

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