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Friday, April 25, 2014

Join Me for Merienda: Double Edition - V,GF - Green Papaya Salad and a recipe for an Italian Style herbed Vinaigrette

I really am not a huge fan of ripe papaya. I always liked the juice (so did my late Lola Frances), but the ripe fruit on its own was a little 'close,' for my liking. However green papaya, is in a different league. It's crunchy and versatile and can be used for pickles and salads. I have been making different variations on this kind of Green Papaya Salad for the past year now. I recently made it for a family gathering and a lot of people were requesting a recipe for it; so here it is. 

It is loosely based off of the Thai Som Tam, but obviously I have not used all the traditional ingredients because a few of them are not vegan (aka Nam Pla/Fish sauce). Some people have commented that it is similar tasting to Atsara (a Filipino style of sweet and sour pickle, using a variety of different vegetables). 

Whatever you think it tastes like, it is a very light and refreshing salad. The crispness of the shredded green papaya and carrot play nicely together in the sweet, sour, salty flavorful dressing.



This is one of many permutations of my Green Papaya Salad. This version includes the turmeric and red pepper flakes.


V,GF-  Jess' Green Papaya Salad 


Ingredients:

1 Large Green Papaya
3-4 Organic Carrots

For the Dressing-

3-4 Minced Garlic cloves
3-5 Chopped Green Onions/Scallions
1/3C Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4C Canola/Safflower/Rice Bran Oil (any neutral oil)
2-3 Tb of Organic Agave,Organic Cane Sugar or Organic Palm Sugar
Generous Pinch of Himalayan Pink Sea Salt and or 1 Tb GF Tamari
Fresh Ground Black Pepper to taste
*Dash of Sesame Oil
*Pinch of Turmeric
*Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
*Coarsley chopped Organic Cilantro to Garnish
* A squeeze of lemon or lime juice

*Optional Items


This is the special peeler that I use to 'grate,' the papaya and carrots.

A close up of the blade

Method:
Grate the Papaya using a special serrated peeler. I bought mine from a local Asian market for a little under 3 dollars, but if you can't find one of these; you can just cut the papaya into big strips and julienne them with a chef knife. I've also seen people do a very fancy method of hacking at the whole papaya to make tons of indentations and then cutting it vertically, but I'm not an expert; so I just stick to using my peeler. (They do sell pre-grated green papaya at some Asian markets, but it can be a bit pricey, my local market sells it for around 2.99 a pound, but buying it whole is only 99 cents a pound; so you can see the difference.
Do the same thing for the carrots and set them aside in a big bowl. If you're not going to make the salad straight away; then I would recommened rinsing the papaya strips and carrots strips under cold water and then salting them (as if you were going to start making some sort of pickle). You can let it rest overnight either outside of in the fridge.

To make the dressing, you just need to mix the minced garlic, chopped green onions, raw apple cider vinegar, agave or sugar,pink salt, black pepper, canola oil. Blend them together and let it sit for a few minutes and then taste it to adjust for seasoning. Then combine with the grated papaya and carrot, toss using gloved hands in order to distribute the dressing through and through. You could eat it straight away, but this salad only gets better as it ages (if you haven't eaten it already ;p


In an airtight container I've been able to keep it fresh for a little more than a week. You just need to keep it in the coldest part of your fridge.


I like to eat this salad with a little crushed peanut, raw cashews or raw sunflower seeds, but it tastes awesome, all on its own as well. 




Bonus Recipe

Shiny and golden from the Extra Virgin Olive Oil


This dressing was made the other day for a dinner with some friends and they really enjoyed it; so I've tried to encapsulate it here. As always you can always play around with ingredients to come up with something that is just right for your own tastes.


V,GF- Italian Herb Vinaigrette


1/3 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 C Apple Cider Vinegar
Favorite dried herbs: Oregano, Basil, Rosemary,Thyme
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Tb Organic Sugar/Agave Nectar
Pinch of Himalayan Pink Salt
2 Diced tomatoes
2-3 minced garlic cloves
2-3 chopped green onions
*pinch of smoked spanish paprika

*Optional 


Method:
Mix all of the ingredients together and let them marinate for at least a few hours up until overnight before serving.

Okay, well those are some pretty simple recipes for Salads and their dressings. I hope that you'll give them a try someday. 

Until my next post, peace, good eating and happy cooking!

Love,
Jessica