Believe it or not I only just had my first persimmon a couple of weeks ago. I know, I know, its crazy sounding but for whatever reason it was just not something I had ever tried. I even had to ask the checkout girl how to eat it and she had never tried one before either, actually none of the staff at the market had, which made me feel better but also a little like "am I about the eat the most obscure piece of fruit ever"?

Paul and I had a discussion on how to eat it, do we peel it, is their seeds that we need to take out, do we core it? He thought you just bite into like an apple and so that is exactly what we did. No fancy way about it.

I had no idea what to expect taste wise, I had heard they can either be crunchy or soft, I opted to get a harder one and was so pleasantly surprised when I bit into it. The best way to describe it is kinda like a crunchy melon. One side had ripened a little more than the other and was quite a bit softer and much sweeter (too sweet for me) so I would say when buying a persimmon go for a harder one (which I was actually told by my ever so lovely Instagram friend Jeannette @shutthekaleup who actually made me want to try a persimmon in the first place, so I can thank her for the inspiration for this post xx).

I like to play around a lot with savoury and sweet items (apparently I am on a honey and thyme kick right now as I just posted a honey and thyme baked brie, you can find it here).

Paul always says “you are adding honey” (or maple syrup) again and then when he tries it I always get the head nod of approval, kinda like “ok, yes it worked again” which of course always makes me so happy, because when playing with sweet and savoury you never really know what it will turn out like. Sometimes it is a safe bet and other times it can be a total gamble.

This was definitely a gamble seeing as I had never tried a persimmon before never mind cooked with one but I was determined to make something seasonally delicious to share with you guys.

Honey and thyme is kinda a classic for me (obviously) and it usually always works really well when roasting or baking fruits. In the summer I roast peaches with honey and thyme and they are absolutely divine, throw them on top of a little yogurt and you have an amazing breakfast.

I figured with picking a harder persimmon (which are a lot less sweet) adding a little honey and roasting them would work out well and if I added some thyme, goat cheese and bacon they wouldn’t turn out too sweet even with the honey.

Hallelujah they worked. I am actually really proud of this recipe, I kinda felt like I was on MasterChef when they get the mystery box with all those random ingredients to make something that is going to amaze the judges, some work some don’t, I think these would have got me to the second round. I think. Maybe you can let me know...

honey & thyme baked persimmons + goat cheese & smoked bacon

ingredients

2 persimmons

2 tbsp of honey

1 1/2 tbsp of fresh thyme

1 tsp pure vanilla

1 tsp olive oil

1/3 cups of goat cheese

3 slices of bacon

directions

Preheat the oven to 350.

Chop the bacon into small pieces, in a pan on low to medium heat cook, set aside in a small bowl.

Slice the persimmons to about ¼ of an inch; it does not have to be exact, but try to keep them all the same thickness (for even cooking). In a small bowl mix together the honey, thyme, vanilla and olive oil.

Arrange the persimmons in one layer on a parchment covered baking sheet, drizzle with the honey, thyme mixture. Place in the oven and cook for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, take the persimmons out of the oven and top with small globs of goat cheese, place back into the oven and broil for 5-7 minutes (really watching this so they don’t burn) until the goat cheese is nicely golden brown.

Take persimmons out of the oven and place on a plate, top with the bacon pieces, some extra fresh thyme and serve.