Summer Caribbean Red Spring Rolls

I’m new to the rice wrapper; I was somewhat intimidated, but no more. It’s a great way to ‘wrap’ things, particularly delicious things up.

Ingredients

1 cup Caribbean Red papaya (approximately 50% color with the fruit giving to a gentle squeeze.)

1 cup cucumber

½ cup baby carrots

1 tsp basil or mint

1 tsp fish sauce

1 tsp ginger

1 tbs rice vinegar

½ tsp bird's eye chili or other dried pepper

6 long strands of chive (optional)

6 rice wrappers

Directions

·      Thinly chop papaya, cucumber and carrots. You’ll want to chop pieces so none is larger than ½” on any dimension.

·      Finely chop fresh basil or fresh mint and combine with the produce in a large bowl.

·      In a medium bowl, combine fish sauce, grated ginger, rice vinegar and finely diced dried bird chili pepper.  

·      Moisten rice wrappers until pliable. Add filling, drizzle with sauce and roll up. Tie with strands of chive. 

·      Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until ready to serve.

           

Serves 4

Prep time: 30 minutes


For information about chilies and peppers used in Sweet Heat recipes

Curried Chicken & Caribbean Red Papaya Salad

After years of lifelessly boring deli chicken salad, it’s time to take this salad on a different direction. The change agent being sriracha, a Thai hot sauce typically seasoned with garlic, vinegar, sugar and spices. No one will ever again say chicken salad is boring.


Ingredients

2 tbs mayonnaise

2 tbs plain greek yogurt

1 tsp lime juice

½ tsp curry powder

salt and pepper to taste

½ tsp Sriracha

1 cup shredded or cubed cooked chicken

1 cup Caribbean Red papaya (approximately 50% color with the fruit giving to a gentle squeeze.)

2 cups your choice lettuce

Directions

·      Mix together mayonaise, plain greek yogurt, lime juice, curry powder, salt, pepper and Sriracha.

·      Combine this dressing with leftover shredded or cubed cooked chicken and semi-ripe papaya chunks. Serve on a bed of greens.

Serves 4

Prep time: 15 minutes

For information about chilies and peppers used in Sweet Heat recipes

Chilled Caribbean Red Papaya-Watermelon Soup

Combining my two favorite summer fruits is a no-brainer; it’s the addition of habanero pepper that defines the genius behind ‘sweet-heat’. Whatever the stove’s heat could’ve added to the taste is instead sublimely provided by the habanero pepper’s flavor acting as a catalyst in the midst of summer’s fruit.

 

Ingredients

1 cup Caribbean Red papaya, diced

1 cup watermelon, diced

½ cup coconut water

2 tbs lime juice

dash of salt

½ tsp cilantro

½ tsp finely diced habanero pepper (optional – for sweet-heat!)

Directions

·      In a blender or food processor, combine papaya, watermelon, coconut water, lime juice, salt and cilantro.

·      For a sweet-heat addition, process in finely diced fresh habanero pepper.

·      Chill until ready to serve. Garnish with cilantro.

Serves: 2

Prep time: 15 minutes


For information about chilies and peppers used in Sweet Heat recipes

Frozen Caribbean Red Papaya Coconut-Rum Cocktail

Adding Caribbean Red papaya to your choice of coconut milk* or rum makes the summer’s heat is not that bad. But adding a hot chili pepper to take the edge off the sweltering temperature is mind-boggling. After the first sip, it all makes sense. Now that’s sweet heat!

Ingredients

½ cup Caribbean Red papaya, chopped

1 tbs pineapple juice

1 oz. coconut milk or spiced rum

½ cup ice

½ tsp finely mined dried hot chili pepper

dash nutmeg

Directions

·      In a blender, process ripe papaya, thinned with a little pineapple juice, spiked with coconut or spiced rum and ice.

·      To make it a sweet-heat cocktail, add just a small amount of finely minced, dried hot chili pepper, like a bird chili or something similar.

·      Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

Serves: 1

Prep time: 10 minutes

*This also makes a terrific tropical Shirley Temple.


For information about chili peppers used in Sweet Heat with Caribbean Red papayas

Sweet Heat with Caribbean Red Papayas

Recipes for 

Papaya Coconut-Rum Cocktail

Curried Chicken and Papaya Salad

Summer Spring Rolls

Chilled Papaya-Watermelon Soup

Information about the chilies and peppers used in recipes

Plantains

It's easy to get off on the wrong foot with plantains, or platanos. They're often sold in grocery stores next to their cousins - bananas - as they bear the close resemblance you'd expect from relatives. But even though they look like bananas, they don't act like them, and they'll let you down if you fail to understand their unique character.


For starters, they must be eaten cooked. Never raw. They're prized in Latino cultures not as quick fruit snacks, but for their versatility, their starchy, potato-like qualities, and their longevity on the kitchen counter. As plantains slowly ripen, they go through major personality changes. When hard and green, they're traditionally sliced and fried for tostones, or chips. As plantains turn yellow-brown, they can be cut into strips or chunks and pan- fried, or added to soups and stews. And when black and smelling faintly like banana, they become semi-sweet (but never as sweet as bananas) and can be baked whole or in halves like potatoes, boiled and mashed with garlic or sauce, or grilled.


Once they turn black, cook plantains within a few days. When you're in a hurry, cut the ends from yellow-brown or black plantains, cut into 2-inch chunks, put in a microwaveable dish, and add water to a depth of about ½ inch. Cover and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, or until creamy and evenly softened. Then peel, mash, and season as you wish. Plantains are tricky to peel before they're dead ripe and black. When they're green or yellow, rinse and slice off the tips, cut into about four sections, slit the tough peel lengthwise, and remove the peel in strips, pulling up and across rather than straight along the length.


The skins can be amazingly stubborn, so attack with a knife and cut them away if need be. Or, add unpeeled chunks of yellow-brown or black plantains to water, soup, or stew, simmer for at least 20 minutes, lift out the chunks, peel, and return them to the pot. How do you prepare plantains?
Kale and Plantain Soup
Serves 4-6
This hearty soup comes together quickly, making it a good choice for a weeknight supper. Substitute spinach or Swiss chard if you wish, and add beans for an extra protein boost.

Ingredients
1 pound kale
2 large yellow-brown plantains
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 jalapeno chilies, seeded and diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
2 tablespoons peeled, diced ginger
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 quarts chicken stock
4 scallions, thinly sliced

Preparations
Strip the kale stems from the leaves and cut the leaves into ¼-inch strips.
Remove the tips from the plantains, cut them into 2-inch chunks, slit the peel lengthwise and remove it in strips. Then cut the chunks in half lengthwise and cut into slices.
Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat.
Add the chilies, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes, or until fragrant.
Add the kale and salt, cover, and cook, stirring several times, until the kale wilts, about 10 minutes.
Add the plantains and broth, bring just to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the plantains are tender.
Serve hot, garnished with scallions.

Recipe courtesy of the Latino Nutrition Coalition

Grilled Plantains with Molasses-Citrus Glaze
Serves 4-6
Use plantains that are black, and almost rotten looking, to experience the peak of their sweetness. Serve with chicken, seafood, or pork, or as a dessert.

Ingredients
4 tablespoons molasses
Juice of 3 oranges
4 tablespoons lime juice (from about 2 limes)
2 tablespoons dark rum
6 very ripe plantains (about 2 pounds)

Preparation
Make the glaze: Combine the molasses, orange and lime juice, and rum in a small bowl. Do not peel the plantains. Slice them in half lengthwise. (The skin will serve as protection and allow the interior to cook through before the exterior scorches.)
Over a medium fire, place the plantains face down on the grill and cook for 2 minutes, or until the surface is well browned. Turn and cook them face up for another minute. Remove the plantains from the grill and either paint or spoon the sauce over them. Serve immediately.

Recipe from The Thrill of the Grill by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby (William Morrow and Company).

Healthy Starfruit deviled eggs

It's time to get the deviled egg plate out of the back of the cabinet, eggs are off the 'bad' list* with a little help from starfruit which makes great deviled eggs without any additional fat.
Rather than making 24 deviled eggs (1 dozen cut in half) out of the same recipe, I had some fun and mixed it up. I used starfruit in each but changed the herbs featured in each. So the recipes are for one egg each and are approximate. As you can tell by the photo, dill, oregano and mint were used.

Ingredients per hard boiled egg
1/4 teaspoon greek yogurt (with a pinch of sugar to taste)
1/4 teaspoon starfruit, chopped finely (drain if you like deviled eggs chunky)

for Starfruit oregano deviled eggs
add a pinch of fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard

for Starfruit mint deviled eggs
add a squirt of Worchester sauce
add a pinch of fresh chopped mint

for Starfruit dill deviled eggs
add a pinch of fresh dill
add a squirt of lime juice

Directions
For all the eggs you are 'deviling', add the yogurt and starfruit.
Mix other ingredients as you desire.

*unless you have heart disease or high LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, doctors say you can safely eat one whole egg per day. Check with your doctor to see if eggs are still on your 'bad' list