Continuing with the theme of what we had for dinner on Friday night, here is the recipe for Papaya and Basil Salad. Sounds weird right? Well, I probably never would have given this recipe a second look if I had found it myself, but luckily for me, it was served to me two years ago by a friend and I immediately fell in love. Beth found the recipe in this cool New York Times article written by Mark Bittman called “Recipes for 101 Simple Salads for the Season” published in 2009. Check it out here if you want to see all of the recipes.
I have made it many, many times since. While it does have a lot of sugar, the vast majority of the dressing/marinade gets poured off before you serve the salad. What is left is a sweet and sour concoction that works well as a side dish or even on top of a green salad.
I happen to love papaya, so that may have something to do with my feelings for this salad. If you are not a papaya aficionado, I highly recommend asking your grocer to show you what a ripe papaya looks like (it’s not pretty). Any papaya will ripen at home on your counter, which is a good thing and is more than can be said for many fruits that you get these days.
Papaya and Basil Salad
inspired by a recipe by Mark Bittman
Serves 4-6 as a side dish
1 really ripe papaya, seeds and skin removed and cut into 1 1/2″ chunks
1 or 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup (a handful) fresh basil, sliced
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar (I used organic sucanat, which is dried cane juice and is much less processed than white sugar)
1 tsp salt
Combine vinegar, sugar and salt in a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Stir and remove from heat when sugar is dissolved. Let cool.
In a bowl, put papaya chunks, carrots and basil. Toss with vinegar marinade. Allow to marinate for 10 to 20 minutes and then strain off excess liquid before serving. Serve immediately.
If you would like to prep the marinade and the papaya, carrot, basil mixture ahead of time and keep them separate in the refrigerator, then toss right before serving, that would work well.
I spent half a year in Bogota, Colombia as a Spanish major when I was in college and ate myself silly on papaya – several times a week. It has never tasted as good here as it did there, but this salad sounds great and I may need to give it a try.
I can't really get over the smell of papaya alone, but I'm willing to give it a try in this recipe.
I saved that Mark Bittman piece and use it a lot in the summer. My favorite is a watermelon/mint/feta concoction. Papaya is also great with fresh lime juice drizzled on top and just scooped out of the shell with a spoon! Yum.
This was the first papaya I ever liked……really. I was even hesitant to take some knowing I didn't really like it in the past. I had always had it when it was kind of hard and tasteless. Your salad was so different. The papaya was soft and juicy and had a great taste. I have read that papaya has loads of digestive enzymes and is so healthy in a meal. Thanks for showing me how papaya could taste!
Wendy – curious to try this recipe. I have not ever been a fan of papaya. We call it, un-affectionately, "cheese-fruit". This recipe could be a game changer.
I've only really had Papaya frozen. Now I have to convince my mom to buy one so I can have it fresh!
Papaya always seemed a little funny smelling and tasteless to me until I had it in Hawaii. It was a seeded half, with a whole (quartered) lemon to squeeze into it. The waiter showed me what to do, just squeeze the juice into the cavity and scoop the fruit with a spoon. Make sure you get lemon or lime juice in every bite. Fabulous!!!