The great Kaki debate.

lamb and kaki sauce

I don’t  know how many of you like Persimmon fruit ( actually we call it Kaki) … among the people  I know , the feelings  are mixed. There are:  fans of  mature kaki, fans of super ripe kaki, others  that prefer it when it’s still a little unripe and hard and those, like Nick who  think it’s name is very fitting.. I love them , especially when the fruit is super ripe and dripping with sticky juice. During this time ,around the village of Allerona, you can see that the kaki trees are at the height of their beauty, completely devoid of  leaves with only their fruit left. Lots of hanging orange balls that remind me so much of Christmas .

A festive kaki tree

 For a few years know , I’ve been trying to think of a recipe that includes this fruit. Looking through my mother’s old cookery books and searching on line.  Unfortunately , everything that came out were recipes for cakes or mousse! But finally, to my big surprise, a  couple of days ago,  in an old Italian magazine , I found a fantastic idea:  combining  lamb with a sweet and sour persimmon puree . I made some small changes from the original recipe, only motivated by personal taste and needs. For example, since I’m full of walnuts why use pine nuts? And considering that the thyme in my garden is looking a bit dead, why not use marjoram? So,  as I said, some small changes ,but no big drama. Ciao ciao.

Serve 4:
800 grams of thick sliced lamb
½ cup bread crumbs
A handful of ground walnuts
1 onion, finely chopped
20 grams of butter
2 ripe persimmons
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs of marjoram
2 sprigs of rosemary
4 sage leaves
½ tsp honey
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 cup red wine to marinate
Evo oil
Salt and pepper
 How it work :
Marinate lamb in wine ,2 sprigs of marjoram, salt and pepper. Chop the marjoram, rosemary and sage, add the bread crumbs, ½ of the ground walnuts, salt and pepper. Drain the lamb from the marinade and roll in the chopped herbs and bread crumbs. Arrange the meat on a baking sheet, drizzle with Evo oil. Bake in preheated oven at 240 degrees for 10 minutes first and at 170 degrees for 15 minutes after.
For the sauce: In a pan cook the chop onion in  butter, add remaining walnuts, bay leaf and cook over low heat for 6 / 7 minutes. Peel and seed the persimmons, then blend in a blender with balsamic vinegar and honey . Pour into the pan with the onions, add salt and pepper. Cook for another ¾ minutes. Serve with the lamb.