Recipe: Papaya and Avocado Salad
Happy Autumn Everyone! Wow, time is really flying! I have so busy working these past few weeks, I forgot that I still had this summer-y recipe waiting in the wings to get posted. Roberto and I are heading for a much needed vacation to New England to visit friends and family the second week of October and so I have been working feverishly hard on the Genesis project – typing out recipes, meeting with food vendors, collaborating with the menu design, etc. I have also been invited to participate in a very exciting blog event – I will reveal more about that later. But anyway, here is the long awaited second part to my Giada De Laurentiis tribute. Although the ingredients are summer, the colors are fall! Enjoy everyone!
I adore papaya – it has probably become my favorite fruit of all time – it has a wonderful creamy texture and is not too sweet but not at all bitter. I love eating it straight for breakfast or with a dollop of cardamom whipped cream for dessert. Paired in this salad with another creamy flavor of mine – avocado and you have a winning combination. The colors are beautiful and the flavors are simple. This is what makes this recipe great.
INGREDIENTS:
2 avocados, peeled, halved and pitted
2 papayas, peeled, halved and seeded (I don’t know what papayas are like where you live, but the ones down here in FL are huge! I only needed part of one for this recipe – the rule of thumb here is to have equal amounts of avocado and Papaya).
1 lime, zested and juiced
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp sugar
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (good quality)
METHOD:
Slice the avocado lengthwise into ½ inch slices. Slice the papaya width-wise into ½ inch slices. Arrange slices overlapping and alternating on a platter.
In a small bowl combine remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Spoon the dressing over the avocado and papaya and serve immediately.
*Cook’s Note*
The only thing I would change is the order of the method. I would first make the dressing allowing the ingredients to marry and the salt to dissolve, or use less salt. Then I would slice the papaya and avocado, the reason being that I could taste chunks of salt on the salad and it was not pleasant. I use coarse sea salt and usually I don’t need to grind it as it melts into whatever I am preparing. In this case I believe that there was not allowable time to make this happen.
Peter - September 24, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Hey Jenn
Now that’s one clever combination. I love the use of these two ingredients and the colors are striking. Must give it a go.
Rohini - September 24, 2007 at 3:47 pm
nice salad. Love ur website. Thanks for adding me in Foodie Blogroll.
jeena - September 24, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Cayenne pepper, olive oil and advocado yum! Jenn I always like to drizzle olive oil on my advocado with a pinch of black pepper 😀 I will try cayenne pepper next time thanks. 🙂 I bet Florida papayas are real fruity and lovely!
Deb - September 24, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Nice lucious looking salad Jenn! The colors in your photo are awesome! Now those are some ingredients I can get ahold of!
Sylvia - September 24, 2007 at 6:15 pm
How busy person you are Jenn, but I think you seem happy with those lot activity.Unfortunately here in Argentina papaya is not a much tasty fruit like in Brazil for example.I like so much papaya and I miss it in my breakfast blended with orange juice,or just whit sparkling sugar.Is a wonderful and creamily salad that I must be enjoy.Happy autumn for you.
Anh - September 24, 2007 at 7:16 pm
This combo is new to me, but I bet it must taste wonderful!
Toni - September 25, 2007 at 1:33 am
Hi Jenn,
This salad looks lovely! I adore papayas too – but only the kind they grow in Brazil or Hawaii. The kind you describe sounds like it might have come from Mexico. Those huge ones don’t work for me – but I would make this in a heartbeat with Brazilian papaya! Anyway, this may sound too summery for you, but here in San Diego it still works – Thanks!
Valli - September 25, 2007 at 10:23 am
Whay a wonderful combination of flavours Jenn. Another masterpiece from the Leftover Queen!! I hope you have a wonderful and well deserved vacation!!!
Happy Cook - September 25, 2007 at 11:22 am
This cimbination i have never had.
Back in India my mom have papaya tree in her garden. And i love them.
And acocado that too o love.
So can’t go wrong with the combo.
Brittany - September 25, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Life has dealt me a cruelty, and pictures like this just twist the knife. I am allergic to avocados!!! This looks so delicious and I want to EAT it!! I’m sure it’s incredible….it looks like it just melts in your mouth.
Ginger Carter Miller - September 25, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Jenn, I am also in Florida — at least part of the time. I’m in Tampa.
Ginger
Misslionheart♥ - September 25, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Mmm…
Avocados are just so-o-o delicious. I have two of them on the windowsill waiting to ripen a little more. I like to cut it in half, take out the stone, add salt and garlic mayonnaise and eat it with a spoon, straight fron the skin! Yummy, can’t wait…
Thanks again for adding me.
Emilie - September 26, 2007 at 4:24 am
This sounds really good. I love avocado. The only papaya I could find here in Missouri, was a giant one. I bought it, took it home, and cut into it. It smelled and tasted like garbage. That can’t be good, right?
The Leftover Queen - September 26, 2007 at 7:18 am
Peter! Hi! I hope you like it. Let me know how it goes for you.
Hi Rohini and welcome! Thanks so much for your comment.
Hi Jeena – I live on papayas, however they are going out of season now. I can still get them but they are more expensive now. Let me know how you like the cayenne!
Hi Deb! Great! Let me know how you like it!
Hi Sylvia! Happy spring to you! I need to learn about the varieties of papaya. I am used to the ones here. When I lived in New England they also had the big ones, brought up from Mexico. I do like being busy, but right now, it is getting to be too crazy for even me.
Anh! It was new to me too, but it was quite lovely!
Hey Toni! Yes! The are mexican papayas. Since you are in California, you probably have the smaller ones, like Giada had on her show. Those are the ones from Brazil? If those are even better than what I have been eating, I can’t even imagine!!!
Thanks Valli! Yeah, vacation….I can hardly wait. Belive me! 🙂
Hi Happy Cook! How lucky your mom is to have a papaya tree! That is wonderful! So there are Indian Papayas as well – Are they big or small like an avacado?
Oh Brittany! That is absolutely a tragedy! However, I am sure all those pies make up for it a little bit! 😉
Hi Ginger! We were just in Tampa a few weekends ago checking it out. What part do you live in?
Misslionheart! That sounds like a lovely combo. Stick that on some whole wheat bread and you have a lovely sandwich! I am going to have to try that!
Hi Emilie! NO that is not good! Wah! I am not sure what to say. However, like I said, they are going out of season. I would wait until next summer to try again, but I WOULD try again! 🙂
SeeC - September 26, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Thats very nutritious. Very inviting too.
Rose - September 26, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Two of my favorites foods together – simple is always good. And what a lovely presentation!
Cris - September 26, 2007 at 10:18 pm
Beautiful colors! Oh I love papaya! But never had it in a salad… hummm, I need to try!
Erin - September 27, 2007 at 2:43 am
MMM. I love avocado, but I would have never thought to put it in a fruit based salad. This looks so yummy! Thanks for the idea.
brittany - September 27, 2007 at 3:45 am
pie heals all wounds : )
Still tho…I want to eat that!
myfrenchkitchen - September 27, 2007 at 4:26 am
Your salad sounds and looks wonderful, I have not yet had this combination and it looks so healthy inviting with its beautiful colours…will definitely make it.
Ronell
núria - September 27, 2007 at 6:18 am
Tomorrow morning there’s street market… best fruits and veggies. I’m going to try Papaya for the first time! It looks like a great combination with avocado!!!
The Leftover Queen - September 27, 2007 at 6:49 am
Hi SeeC! Yes, it does have a wonderful nutritional make-up as well!
Hi Rose! Thanks, nice to see you back in the blogging world again!
Hi Cris! And apparently from the comments on this post, Papaya in Brazil is the best! So you are one lucky girl!
Hi Erin! The textures are just so great together due to their similarity on that front.
Brittany! You are too funny!
Hi Myfenchkitchen! Thanks for stopping by! Let me know what you think when you try it!
Great Nuria! Let me know how you like it!
Sue - September 27, 2007 at 11:36 am
That is one gorgeous salad. Your papayas look amazing!
Meg Wolff - September 27, 2007 at 8:13 pm
Hi Jenn,
Where are you going in New England? I live in Maine. Funny thing too is that I’m in Florida this week!
The salad looks great!
The Leftover Queen - September 28, 2007 at 9:46 am
Thanks Sue!
The Leftover Queen - September 28, 2007 at 10:20 am
That is funny Meg! We used to Live in both MA and VT. So we are visiting friends and family in both states! I bet you are enjoying the beginning of fall!
Cris - September 29, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Jenn… yes, that’s right papaya here is so sweet… and they grow everywhere, my mom has one papaya tree in her backyard full of them and so do my in-laws, lots of papaya trees in their orchard!
The Leftover Queen - September 30, 2007 at 10:36 am
Lucky lucky girl you are Cris!
Sefa - October 1, 2007 at 8:21 pm
Hi Jenn..
I never tried salad with papaya and avocado, but I’d love to. Unfortunately, papaya here in Germany is not that good 🙁
The Leftover Queen - October 2, 2007 at 8:01 am
Hi Sefa! Oh that is too bad! I am so sorry!
gay - November 15, 2007 at 12:14 am
Haven’t tried this one, are the papayas ripe? We use both ripe and unripe papayas here in the Philippines and the unripe ones are usually for salads while the ripe ones are taken as desserts.