Papaya Salad for Passover

 

Papayas want to be vegetables!

Sometimes, folks are disappointed by papayas.  Their flowery scent and deep orange-pink color seem to promise mango-like tropical lushness and sweetness, but in fact, papayas are low in sugar and acid and not especially fruity at all.  Their flavor is more peppery and vegetal.  When you start working with papaya as a salad vegetable, it gets a chance to shine.  For this salad, I pair papaya with avocados, another fruit with vegetable aspirations.

Papaya salad

Papaya
Avocados (so that there is about an equal volume of avocados and papaya)
A few very thin shavings of sweet onion, or regular onion (optional)
Watercress (optional)
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
lime
Salt

Cut the papaya and avocado into slices or chunks.  Add the onion if you are using it and toss or layer the vegetables together. Drizzle with olive oil and add a few drops of vinegar and juice from the lime and salt to taste.  Serve as is or on a bed of watercress.

For a Caribische Seder, serve with Cassavakoek and vegan Sancocho.