TasteFood

I discovered persimmons when I lived in Europe, where they are commonly known as sharon fruit. They were a mystery to me at first, these orange, tomato-shaped creatures -- how to eat them? Skin or no skin? I quickly learned to enjoy persimmons in their entirety, with their taught, crisp skin giving way to dribbling soft, honey-sweet flesh.

Now I live in California, where persimmon trees grow in our garden. In the fall, when the leaves are still intact, the persimmon trees are at their prettiest. Their fruit continues to ripen, and their pumpkin-orange skin is striated with shades of gold and sage, while the robust leaves are streaked in crimson. Come winter, when the leaves have fallen, the fruit continues to cling to the barren branches, dangling like forgotten Christmas ornaments, ripe for plucking.

There are two types of persimmons: the round, squat fuyu and the more upright, heart-shaped hachiya. The hachiya must be eaten at its ripest, when it's incredibly squishy, to avoid its astringent, unripened flesh. It's best to enjoy a hachiya as a big juicy slurp with a napkin in hand, or blending its pulp into baked goods. Unlike the hachiya, the fuyu is not astringent, so it may be eaten firm or soft. I enjoy the firmness of fuyus when their consistency is similar to a crisp pear. At this stage, they hold their shape well and have a soft sweetness, which makes them a great addition to salads and salsas. The firm fuyu fruit can also be grated and mixed into baked goods -- just as you would grate a carrot into cakes -– such as in this teacake.

Persimmon Olive Oil Teacake

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 70 minutes

Yield: 1 loaf

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup almond flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup coarsely grated fuyu persimmon, packed, about 2 persimmons

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter or oil a loaf pan.

Whisk the flour, almond flour, cinnamon, cardamom, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugars until light and fluffy, then whisk in the oil and vanilla. Add the flour ingredients and stir to just combine without overmixing. Stir in the persimmon and walnuts.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes clean, about 1 hour, depending on the shape of the pan. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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There's no point in waiting. It's officially the holiday season, and we all need a drink. Not just any drink, mind you, but a spiced and spirited elixir designed to warm you inside and out. I'm talking about glogg, the Danish term for what is also known as mulled wine or gluhwein. Now, there's more to just heating a bottle of vino that makes a good cup of glogg. After all, in Nordic countries where it grows dark in the winter afternoons and the weather is more often gray and wet than not, a cup of glogg is considered a necessity, right up there with mittens and a fire. Throughout the month of December, this libation is a Danish staple, served in cafes, doled out from street carts and ladled at social gatherings often accompanied by ginger cookies or aebleskivers. You can be sure that this concoction will be fortified with enough spirits to warm a Viking, and tasty enough to please a family gathering.

While glogg can be made from a pre-bottled mix, I encourage you to make it from scratch. This recipe avoids the cloying sweetness often found with mixes and is remarkably easy to prepare. You don't have to splurge on a nice bottle of wine for this recipe, but be sure it has heft. And don't let the wine come to a boil while it's heating -- lest you boil away all the alcohol and disappoint your fellow Vikings.

Glogg (Danish Mulled Wine)

Total Time: 30 minutes; standing time: at least 1 hour for the garnish

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

For the garnish:

1 cup raisins

1/3 cup orange liqueur, such as Cointreau

For the glogg:

1 1/2 cups port wine

1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup orange liqueur, such as Cointreau

1/3 cup light brown sugar

Zest of 2 untreated or organic oranges, shaved in strips with a vegetable peeler

10 cloves

2 cinnamon sticks, plus more for garnish

2 bottles full-bodied red wine

Fresh orange slices for garnish

Prepare the garnish:

Combine the raisins and Cointreau in a small bowl. Let stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour. (The raisins may be prepared up to 1 week in advance. Cover and refrigerate until use.)

Prepare the glogg:

Combine the port, orange juice, Cointreau, sugar, orange zest, cloves and the 2 cinnamon sticks in a heavy large pot with a lid. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the liquid reduces by about one-third, 12 to 15 minutes. Add the red wine, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to low. Heat the glogg without letting it come to a boil (this is important); keep warm.

When ready to serve, add a spoonful of raisins to a glass or mug. Strain the glogg into the glass. Garnish with an orange slice and cinnamon stick and serve with a teaspoon for scooping up the raisins.

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This is a Sunday soup, a perfect antidote to a long holiday weekend punctuated with big meals and late evenings. It's restorative, healthy and nourishing -- a perfect time-out meal to enjoy on a relaxing day with no social agenda. It's also a simple way to use some of that leftover turkey lurking in your fridge. But if you've soldiered through your Thanksgiving leftovers already, you can easily use cooked chicken or a rotisserie chicken from your local store or farmer's market.

There are two important ingredients I like to add to this soup. Shiitake mushrooms impart a luscious slinkiness and umami flavor to the stock, and farro, an ancient nutty wheat grain, lends satisfying heft to each slurp. Use pearled or semi-pearled farro for easiest cooking. Whole-grain farro, while the healthiest option, requires soaking and a cooking time of at least 1 hour, and has a distinct earthy flavor. Milder semi-pearled farro still retains some of its nutritious bran and germ, but is scored to hasten cooking, and pearled farro is completely stripped, thus the least nutritious, but quickest to cook. If farro is not available, pearl barley is a good substitute.

Turkey and Farro Soup With Carrots and Shiitake Mushrooms

Active Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 40 to 50 minutes

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, sliced 1/4-inch thick

6 ounces small shiitake mushrooms, ends trimmed

1/2 cup pearled farro or pearl barley

6 cups turkey or chicken stock

2 thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

2 cups shredded cooked turkey or chicken breast

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian flatleaf parsley

Heat the oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium. Add the onion and saute until it softens without coloring, about 3 minutes. Toss in the carrots and mushrooms and saute until the carrots brighten in color and the mushrooms begin to release their juices, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the farro and cook briefly, stirring to coat and lightly toast the grains, and then add the stock, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the farro is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Stir in the chicken (or turkey), salt and pepper and top off with additional stock if needed. Simmer until the chicken is heated through. Ladle the soup into bowls, and serve hot, garnished with the parsley.

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