Persimmon & Goji Berry Smoothie - Smoothie με Λωτό και Goji Berry

(Συνταγή στα Ελληνικά στο τέλος της σελίδας)

This post is participating in Williams-Sonoma’s Smoothie Week. The theme is “Not Your Typical Smoothie.”
Persimmons are funny little fruits. They are red or deep orange on the outside and look like tomatoes or even tiny pumpkins.
When they are ripe and ready they are sweet and gushy. For some varieties, like the Hachiya, their flesh is so soft and squishy that makes it almost impossible to peel. Just put them on a plate, take a spoon and enjoy the sweet, silky smooth pulp! Beware though, Hachiyas have to be ripe otherwise you are in for a very nasty, bitter and utterly unpleasant surprise. Their unripe flesh is full of very harsh, astringent tannins that suck the moisture out of your mouth leaving you with a bitter, awful feeling which can last for hours. Believe me I know! We used to have two persimmon trees in our garden as I was growing up and my inpatient nature got the best of me every November when the first little bright orange globes made their appearance among the deep green leaves.

As we are at the end of their season, the fruit I find in the farmer's market are very ripe, so there is no real danger there. But overripe persimmons are extremely delicate to handle. They are like small coral coloured water balloons ready to explode with the lightest poke. And explode they did! In their little brown paper bag as I was bringing them home from the market. 

So I had no choice but to mush them even more. I threw them in the blender with a couple of bananas, some almond milk and soaked Goji berries and made a delicious sweet smoothie packed with energy!

Goji berries....now here's another strange sounding fruit - this post seems to be full of them ;) Well if you've never heard of them you are missing out on some serious sweet, antioxidant action! Goji berries are considered to be a superfood because they give us large amounts of nutrients like Beta-Carotin, Vitamin C, B1 and B2, Omega 6, help our immune system, increase our metabolism and are extremely rich in antioxidants. And on top of everything, they also taste quite good. They are sweet and might remind you of raisins or dried cranberries with a subtle whiff of tomato.

I promised myself that I will try to eat at least 1 tablespoons of this amazing superfood every day, either on their own (dried or soaked) or baked in my cakes and off course I will be adding them to all my smoothies from here on!                                                                                                                                      

                                                       

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Persimmon & Goji Berry Smoothie
Serves 2
Ingredients

• 2 ripe persimmons (preferably from the Hachiya variety)
• 2 ripe bananas
• 3 tablespoons ground almonds
• 250 ml almond milk
• 2 tablespoons dried Goji berries soaked in 50 ml water

Instructions

1. Soak the Goji berries in 50 ml water for 20 minutes. Drain and keep the water. 
2. Put all the ingredients in a blender, add the soaking water and blitz until smooth.

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Smoothie με Λωτό και Goji Berry
Για 2 άτομα
Υλικά

• 2 ώριμοι λοτοί (προτιμότεροι είναι αυτοί της ποικιλίας Hachiya)
• 2 ώριμες μπανάνες
• 3 κουταλιές της σούπας αμύγδαλα αλεσμένα
• 250 ml γάλα αμυγδάλου
• 2 κουταλιές της σούπας αποξηραμένα Goji berries μουλιασμένα σε 50 ml νερό

Εκτέλεση

1. Μουλιάζουμε τα Goji berries στο νερό για 20 λεπτά. Τα στραγγίζουμε και κρατάμε το νερό. 
2. Βάζουμε όλα τα υλικά στο μπλέντερ. Προσθέτουμε και το νερό που μουλιάσαμε τα Goji berries και αλέθουμε μέχρι να γίνει βελούδινο.