Comfort Me with Persimmons

Last Wednesday at Green City Market, Orianna of Asian pear fame convinced me to try her newest exotica: American persimmons. While they didn't make it to the Thanksgiving table, I did finally turn to them for a potluck over the weekend.

Given their obscurity, I was a little nervous as to how the dish would go over. Apparently, my concerns were misplaced as it was devoured and requests for the recipe abounded.

Persimmon Bread Pudding
Adapted from Bon Appetit

1 pound persimmons
6 cups stale cubed egg bread, like challah or brioch
1 2/3 cup 1% milk
2 large eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Push the persimmons through a fine mesh strainer. You should get 1 cup of puree. Mix the puree, milk, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Add the bread and soak for 15 minutes. Stir in the raisins and walnuts and scrape into a buttered casserole dish. Dot with butter. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Serve slightly warm dusted with confectioner's sugar.