This recipe was never meant to be published. Instead, it was meant to be conceived and made only once in a moment of convenience, and then forever forgotten.
After a week-long adventure on the Big Island Hawaii, I decide to spend my last evening lounging around the resort. I was craving a refreshing salad for dinner after several previous nights around the island discovering the delectable curries of Thai cuisine.
I poke into the kitchen, scavenging for salad ingredients. I didn’t want to go to the local grocery to purchase additional ingredients since I was flying back to the San Francisco Bay Area the next day. The results of this foraging for food was a salad so delicious, you won’t care that it looks ugly.
Loni’s “Ugly, but Good” Papaya, Avocado and Macadamia Nut Salad
(recipe makes 1 meal-size serving)
- 1/2 large papaya
- 1/2 medium avocado
- 1/4 cup of roasted macadamia nuts
- 1/2 cup of cooked garbanzo beans
- 1/2 cup of cooked sweet corn kernels
- 2 cups of mixed greens
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 3 teaspoons of aged balsamic vinegar
- a dash of sea salt
Remove the seeds from the papaya. Use a knife and score the inside flesh of the papaya into cubes. Use a spoon to remove the papaya flesh from the skin and place the flesh in a medium size bowl. Make sure that the papaya flesh is in approximate 1/4 inch cubes. If not, chop any large pieces.
Chop the avocado into medium size squares and add it to the papaya in the bowl.
Combine the garbanzo beans and sweet corn with the rest of the ingredients in the bowl.
Add one teaspoon of aged balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the bowl and gently mix all the ingredients. Add a dash of salt
On a large plate, place the 2 cups of mixed greens. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil on the greens.
Place the papaya and avocado mixture from the medium bowl on the bed of salad greens.
Crush the roasted macadamia nuts and sprinkle on top.
Drizzle the rest of the balsamic vinegar and olive oil on top and voila!
The results may not look like one of those photogenic salads in the latest issue of your favorite foodie magazine. However, one bite of this salad and you will be hula dancing around the kitchen; realizing you can’t judge a dish by its cover, especially the “Ugly, but Good” Papaya, avocado and macadamia nut salad.
