This month’s blog will focus on the luscious, juicy, nutrient-rich fruit known as PAPAYA, a.k.a. “fruta bomba” or “pawpaw”, native to Central America. Although the peak season for papayas is from January to April, they are available year-round. In today’s blog I will share some information about this fruit and include a few recipes using papaya seeds to try.
Rebecca Wood states in THE NEW WHOLE FOODS ENCYCLOPEDIA that when Columbus first saw the large papayas growing on what resembled a palm tree, he called them “tree melons”. Lane Morgan in THE ETHNIC MARKET FOOD GUIDE tells us that once he had his first taste of this “tree melon” he happily dubbed it “the Fruit of Angels”.
Papaya has long been appreciated both for its delicious taste as well as medicinal properties. Besides being an excellent source of vitamins A and C, as well as potassium, it contains the protein-splitting enzyme known as “papain”, which greatly aids digestion. This is even more present in green (unripe) papaya and papaya seeds as well as the leaves. (Papain is also the main ingredient used in most meat tenderizers.) This papain enzyme is often used as a natural remedy to reduce the itching and swelling of mosquito bites by breaking down the irritating proteins injected by the insect.
According to Kathy Hoshijo in her classic book, KATHY COOKS NATURALLY, the inside of the peels with the little bit of fruit remaining (after eating the papaya) is used as a facial mask by rubbing it into the skin, allowing it to dry and then rinsing it off. Kathy has even used the peels to rub onto her baby’s sore bottom to cure diaper rash!
When I lived in Hawaii, the PAPAYA SEEDS, rich in papain enzyme, were not usually thrown away. Rather, they were used to make a delicious peppery-tasting salad dressing. There are many variations to the basic recipe and I offer my own here.
TROPICAL PAPAYA SEED DRESSING
This dressing is very popular in Hawaii. The spicy seeds from the inside of the papaya, which are quite high in digestive enzymes, are used to make this unusual dressing. A blender quickly turns them into a tasty and healthy salad dressing.
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 c. agave nectar
1 t. dry or prepared mustard
3/4 c. apple cider or red wine vinegar
1 c. olive oil
¾ c. peanut or canola oil
1 small onion or 2-3 green onions, minced
Seasonings to taste
Sea salt to taste (optional)
3 rounded T. fresh papaya seeds, pulp rinsed
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a blender, mix all ingredients except oil and seeds.
2. Slowly add oil in thin stream, continuing to blenderize.
3. Add papaya seeds and blend just until well mixed. Serve or refrigerate.
Use this dressing as you would any other vinaigrette dressing on your
favorite salads.
WARM SPINACH SALAD with PAPAYA SEED DRESSING
You can also go fancy with the recipe below for a popular Hawaiian-style luncheon salad. It is a WARM SPINACH SALAD wherein the tofu chunks are first marinated in the PAPAYA SEED DRESSING, and then the dressing is used to gently sauté the mushrooms and red bell pepper, which are next arranged over the raw spinach and other ingredients. The final step is to pour the warm PAPAYA SEED DRESSING over the salad to serve.
INGREDIENTS:
1 recipe PAPAYA SEED DRESSING (above)
1 pkg. firm tofu, cut into chunks & marinated in the PAPAYA SEED DRESSING*
2 large pkg. or 2 # fresh organic spinach
½ papaya, sliced**
½ red or other sweet onion, thinly sliced
½ c. chopped pecans or walnuts***
½ red bell pepper, thinly sliced
½ # fresh Cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
*After you have marinated the tofu chunks, you can use the same
PAPAYA SEED DRESSING to sauté the pepper and mushrooms.
**Use the same papaya to slice for the salad from which you extracted the seeds for the dressing.
***Although in Hawaii you might use Macadamia nuts for this salad, here on the Mainland, pecans or walnuts are more economical. If you can easily pick up Brazil nuts, they are a good substitute for the rich, fatty Macadamia, and are high in Selenium. You would thinly slice them for this recipe.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Marinate the tofu chunks in the PAPAYA SEED DRESSING for at least one hour.
2. Wash and arrange the spinach on individual plates.
3. Add the sliced papaya, red onions, and nuts on top of the spinach on each guest’s plate.
4. Gently drain the marinated tofu chunks, reserving the PAPAYA SEED DRESSING.
5. Arrange the tofu chunks on top of the plates.
6. Gently sauté the mushroom and pepper slices, and then arrange over the spinach salad on the plates.
7. Pour the warm PAPAYA SEED DRESSING over the salads and serve at once.
PAPAYA SEED “CAVIAR”
One day I was eating some papaya seeds, along with the fruit, and noticed that these round shiny black seeds resembled caviar! So I came up with the idea to serve them with tofu cream cheese on whole-grain crackers or matzos as an appetizer. All you need for this is some commercial non-dairy cream cheese such as Tofutti brand cream cheese (available at Publix), some water crackers or other vegan whole-grain crackers or matzo crackers, and the papaya seeds, separated out from the fruit and rinsed. Spread some cream cheese on a cracker, pile some papaya seeds on top, place some of these on a pretty platter, and you have an elegant and healthy, mildly spicy hors d’oeuvre, one which will definitely be a conversation piece at your next party.
PAPAYA SEED “CAPERS”
There is one last trick that I like to use, since I don’t really care that much for capers. Capers are the small bud of a Mediterranean plant which are pickled and are available in jars. As a condiment, they are often served in salads, sauces and as a garnish. I simply replace them in recipes with the papaya seeds. These black shiny seeds are especially gorgeous in salads.
If you are buying a papaya, using the seeds gives you an added “free” ingredient to use in any of the above recipes. I welcome feedback and more ideas on the use of this healthy and delicious ingredient, the black pearls which grow in the womb of “Mamaya” Papaya.
