In an attempt to lift up and embrace the outcast, I have written about purslane, buckwheat, pumpkin, celery and other foods that through no fault of their own have an image problem. Papaya is a little different. The others are veteran but unpopular, while papaya for far too long has been pigeonholed as a new arrival. Once rare in Israel, it was relatively quite expensive, but the number of growers has increased so there's an abundance of good fruit at reasonable prices.
It is easy to distinguish between the two common types of papaya - round and elongated. It's worthwhile scattering the black seeds on the ground, as they effortlessly turn into small, heartwarming plants and often continue to grow and produce fruit. Papaya lovers recommend using the pulp for skin care.
Papayas significantly balance the body's acidity. That catches people's attention because of the urgent need to balance the high acidity characterisic of so many items on the Western menu - coffee, soft drinks, pizza, ice cream, products containing yeast, chocolate, white flour, meat and fried foods.
Papaya's basic influence and its ability to balance the body's acidity noticeably enhance the wakefulness of those who eat it. In addition, it provides a quick aid to tender veins, digestive difficulties, suppurating wounds and eczema.
Papaya tastes like a refined blend of peach, mango, melon and strawberry. It's milder than mango, more interesting than a peach, more special than melon and juicier than strawberries.
There are almost no mediocre papayas; they are either terrible or wonderful, and so their fate is to be consumed or trashed, depending on whether people love them or hate them.
It is reasonable to assume that people who declare that they hate papaya ran into a bad one the first time around. So invest energy in choosing and eating only nice, firm papayas that are not too hard. Choose unblemished papaya with a yellow or at least a yellowish skin. It is not worth buying green papaya without a hint of yellow.
Unripe papaya should be stored in a cool place but will ripen only if they have not been stored in a refrigerator. Ripe papayas should be kept in the refrigerator. Papayas contain large amounts of vitamin A, B and C, calcium, phosphorous, iron, potassium and folic acid.
Even those who highly value papaya tend to approach them as a fruit to eat raw, after peeling and removing the seeds. At most, one sprinkles on a little lemon juice. But papaya, due to its delicate flavor, pleasant texture and bright color, fits into many dishes and upgrades soups, salads, baked goods and desserts. Here's a tasty meal featuring papaya as the star:
Papaya salad
You will need: one-fourth cup lemon juice, one-half cup olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, a large, ripe but firm papaya, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes, an equal amount of seeded melon cubes, an equal amount of avocado cubes, 4 cups of lettuce of any type, preferably a variety, according to one's imagination, taste and what is at hand, and a handful of nuts. Mix in a bowl and enjoy.
Papaya salad No. 2
You will need: 2 cups of papaya cut into thick strings, 2 cups of finely chopped raw broccoli florets, one-half cup of finely chopped red onion, three-fourths cup of raisins. Mix in a bowl and enjoy.
Papaya soup
Seeded halves of a large papaya make very beautiful serving bowls for soup. When serving soup in them, any soup, but in particular a hot soup, the encounter creates a symphony of flavors and temperatures. After you have finished the soup, the fruit that has softened and changed its flavor snuggles up to the spoon and is a joy to eat. Cold soups such as gazpacho and tzatziki are also enriched by the edible bowl.
For those who like a larger bowl, try a similar but different serving suggestion: Instead of halving the papaya the usual way, along the middle while holding it standing, turn it on its stomach and cut off just a small piece of the top. In this way, after removing the seeds, it will have a larger capacity for each individual soup serving, a sort of orange serving pot, and the top can be used as a cover to keep in the heat. It's ecological and also pretty.
Papaya salsa
You will need: 1 cup papaya cut into tiny cubes, 1 cup pineapple cut the same way, half a cup of chopped onion, 3 teaspoons chopped red pepper and half a cup fresh lemon juice. Put all the ingredients into a food processor and process until you get a smooth liquid. It's a great addition to baked goods and pancakes.
Papaya carpaccio
You will need 1 firm, ripe papaya, 1 handful of pistachio nuts, 1 tbsp. soft or grated hard goat cheese, and lemon and olive oil to taste. Slice the papaya, preferably on a mandolin, into thin slices and place them on a serving plate. Season with olive oil and lemon, decorate with dabs of cheese and pistachios.
Papaya dessert
You will need 3 cups of tasty orange papaya cubes, 3 cups of sliced frozen banana, 1 cup cashews, half a cup fresh lemon juice. Put everything in a food processor or blender. You may add cinnamon or coconut to taste. Or change the amounts as you wish. If you increase the amount of papaya and reduce the banana, you will get a thick shake; if you increase the amount of banana and reduce the amount of papaya, you will get ice cream. The ice cream, like the soup, may be served on papaya halves, but this time, they will be hollow if you have used the flesh to make the dessert.
Dessertless
In Erez Komarovsky's new book, "Cooking and Baking" (in Hebrew, Keter Press ), bread and meat take second place, and vegetables - the marvel of creation - get the starring roles.
Yes, there are dishes made with flesh, but vegetarian ingredients have a strong presence.
Komarovsky, one of the first Israeli celebrity chefs, has always sensed the next big thing before everyone else.
In "Cooking and Baking," there are no desserts. Perhaps they are being saved for the next book, and perhaps this is the beginning of a wondrous path: Desserts out of bounds.
