category: sides

in the kitchen: papaya slaw with lime and mint

I have no idea where the inspiration came from for this papaya slaw. One day I just woke up and decided I wanted some. However, papaya slaw calls for green (aka underripe) papaya, otherwise the pieces will just be a soft mess. Having limited experience with papayas, I dragged John to three grocery stores looking for a display marked “green papayas.” Uhhh…not my smartest moment. I finally realized that THEY’RE ALL GREEN and I should just look for one that’s not ripe

So here are my tips: pick one that’s as green as possible, with no yellow on the skin (it gets yellower as it ripens). It should be firm all over — no soft spots. Use it right away! If you let it sit at home it’ll ripen, and while it’ll be delicious for breakfast, it’ll make a terrible slaw.

The papaya I finally settled on was as big as my face.

For this slaw recipe, we just used the one mammoth papaya since it yielded a huge bowl of flesh. After removing the skin with a vegetable peeler, we cut it open and assessed what was inside:

Not as underripe as I was expecting, but it would do. While the center was turning orange, all the flesh was still firm and not yet too sweet. If you cut yours open and it’s bright orange, juicy and sweet, it probably won’t make for the best slaw. Just eat it with a spoon and pick another one (green all over, and very firm) for your slaw.

John used a mandoline to julienne the papaya, then we made a dressing with white wine vinegar, Maui onion, lime juice, and papaya seeds. The seeds give the dressing a light peppery flavor…yum. And we love vinegar — we’re coming dangerously close to flat-out drinking salad dressing — so we really loaded ours up. Depending on what you like, you might want to start with less vinegar and adjust as you go.

Papaya Slaw with Lime and Mint
Serves 4-6

2 medium papayas, or 1 gigantic papaya
1-2 tbs mint leaves, finely chopped
juice of 2 limes
1/2 c white wine or champagne vinegar
1/2 c sweet onion, chopped (we like Maui onions)
3 tbs papaya seeds
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
olive oil
salt

1. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the skin from the papaya. Use a mandoline to cut into julienne strips, or just use a really sharp knife and slice finely, to the size and shape of shoestring potatoes. But if you have a mandoline, that really works best!

2. Reserve the seeds. Clean and dry them, and pick through of any loose papaya flesh. You’ll use 2 tbs for the dressing…as for the others, well, you can plant your own papaya grove. We actually have four little baby papaya trees that we planted from seed!

3. Place the onion, vinegar, limes, honey, dijon, red pepper flakes, and 3 tbs of the seeds in a blender. Blend until smooth, streaming in the olive oil. I think I used about 1/4 cup; you want the dressing to be smooth, but not oily. Season to taste with a little salt.

4. Toss the papaya with the dressing and a tablespoon or two of fresh chopped mint leaves. (You may have some extra dressing, which would be delicious on a green salad.) Serve chilled.