It’s Pisces season! One of the most mystical signs in the zodiac. Pisces season is about intuition. Romance. Dreams. Surrender. Pisces energy is a lot about feeling versus overthinking. As you navigate through the next 4 – 5 weeks, try to let feeling and intuition guide your moves and decisions. See where it takes you and if it gives you a stronger sense of freedom. This is a good time to create for the joy of it – with no expectations or self-imposed “should’s.” Lastly, if you’ve been feeling stuck, this season’s energy supports in loosening your grip (especially on aspects beyond your control) and seeing how things shake out on a personal level.
To support you with these energies, I’m sharing a recipe that is nourishing and cozy but also light with arugula as the main base. Arugula has a ton of health benefits with nutrients like folate, calcium and magnesium (perfect for dreaming). Arugula is also great for heart health, which you’ll need in this heart over mind time period.
The key ingredient in this salad is persimmon. I have a confession to make. I’m not the biggest fan of persimmons. To say this feels low-key blasphemous because they’re such popular fruits in many Asian countries. But even closer to my heart, my mom has the best persimmon tree. It thrives every fall/winter and literally produces close to a hundred perfect persimmons.
I’ve gotten more experimental with what to do with the fruit besides waiting for my husband to peel and slice them to eat after dinner. A good friend of mine who is a lovely Pisces shared that she uses persimmons in salads, sometimes with other roasted root vegs and usually with arugula. Here is my take on a persimmon salad for you to try this season, inspired by, F, one of my favorite Pisces.
Ingredients
- 2 Fuyu persimmons (I have not tried this with Hachiya)
- 1 bag of arugula
- 6 oz halloumi cheese
- corn starch
- 3/4 cup of pecans
Salad Dressing
- 1/3 cup olive oil (I use Graza’s Drizzle)
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1.5 tbsp champagne vinegar
- 2 tbsp minced shallots
- 1/4 tsp maple syrup
Instructions
- Make the dressing. In a measuring cup, combine all the ingredients and whisk until emulsified.
- Make croutons out of the halloumi cheese. I saw this concept of making halloumi cheese croutons and love it for this salad. Because the persimmons are sweet, the halloumi gives salty bites to the salad. Cut the halloumi into cubes and toss in a medium bowl with cornstarch until all cubes are evenly covered. Place the halloumi into an air fryer at 350 degrees F for 5 minutes. Take out, toss, and air fry for about another 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Toast the pecans. Swap out the halloumi in the air fryer with the pecans. Use the baking sheet instead of the basket if that’s available to you. Toast at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.
- Slice the persimmons. Slice the persimmons into circles and then quarter them so you’re left with thin, triangle-shaped pieces.
- Arrange the salad. In a large salad bowl, combine the arugula with the persimmons. Pour a little bit of dressing and toss before topping with the halloumi cheese croutons and pecans.
In terms of add-ons and alternatives, you can add roasted sweet potatoes or squash. You can also add in some slices of avocado.
JULIENNE CARROTS 