Persimmon Ham Sandwich

Name: Persimmon Ham Sandwich
Ingredients: 1/4 large onion, thinly sliced; 2 tablespoons basil pesto; 4 slices of ciabatta loaf; 6-8 thin slices of smoked ham; 4-8 slices of goat gouda; 1/4 of a Fuyu persimmon, peeled and thinly sliced; 1 tablespoon yuzu juice (optional); 1/2 tablespoon champagne vinegar (optional)

8 ingredients

2 steps

Ingredients

1/4 large onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons basil pesto
4 slices of ciabatta loaf
6-8 thin slices of smoked ham
4-8 slices of goat gouda
1/4 of a Fuyu persimmon, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon yuzu juice (optional)
1/2 tablespoon champagne vinegar (optional)

Directions

1

Depending on the ripeness of the persimmon and your patience for eating it, you might discover that your little orange buddy has a slightly starchy aftertaste, similar to what you might experience with raw spinach leaves. If you do find this too disconcerting to ignore, I suggest adding this next step to your sandwich: soak the cut fruit in yuzu juice and vinegar and let sit for 2-5 minutes while you prepare the rest of the sandwich. The yuzu juice has a strong flavor on its own but paired with the sweet ham, it's perfect together.
2

While the persimmon slices are soaking, cook the onions until they just begin to caramelize. Smother each half of the sandwich with the basil pesto, layer some of the onions on one of the halves and the persimmon slices on the other half. Place 3-4 slices of ham and goat gouda in the middle. I don't have a panini press (I'm of the Alton Brown school of no uni-taskers) so I used a teapot filled with water as the weight, but maybe you have a brick lying around to get the sandwich pressed and heated, go ahead and use that instead.