Salad
PAPAYA AND
SLIMCADO
FLORIBBEAN SALAD
®
This colorful tropical salad brings together the flavors of both Florida and the Caribbean in a sweet and tart first course. If you see an
unfamiliar tropical fruit, check the helpful "how-tos" attached/ "how-to" links to show how to prepare it.
INGREDIENTS:
DIRECTIONS:
1 11 oz. can corn kernels
1. Drain the corn kernels and beans. Rinse with cold water.
Your choice
2. Slice the chayote into julienne strips.(See page 2 for a quick and easy way
1 16 oz. can black beans or
to chop up a chayote.)
1 16 oz. can red beans
3. Chop the starfruit into medium-sized pieces. (See page 3 for a quick and
1 chayote
easy way to chop up a starfruit.)
2 Florida starfruit
4. Peel, take out the seeds and chop the Solo papaya into medium-sized
1 Solo papaya
pieces. (See page 4 for a quick and easy way to chop up a Solo papaya.)
1 SlimCado avocado
5. Cut a SlimCado avocado in half, take out the seed, scoop the flesh out and
1 lime
chop into medium-sized pieces. (See page 5 for a quick and easy way to chop
5 oz. jar pitted black olives, chopped
up a SlimCado.)
1/2 cup red onion, diced
6. In a large bowl add the juice of one lime. (See page 7 for a quick and easy
1" fresh ginger, about 1 tbs grated
way to juice a lime.)
4 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
7. To the bowl, add the corn, beans, fruit, olives and red onion to combine.
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Cover the surface tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2
1 tbs cilantro, chopped
hours.
8. With a vegetable peeler, take the skin off of 1" of a ginger hand. Break off
Yield: 6 servings
the piece and remove any remaining skin. Grate into a small bowl. (See page
Prep time: 30 minutes, plus 2 hours refrigeration.
8 for a quick and easy way to prepare ginger.)
9. Add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and cilantro to the small bowl and
whisk to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
10. Pour the contents of the small bowl over the large bowl's salad mixture
and toss. Serve immediately.
Peeling (optional)
STEP 1
Chayote's skin often has a sticky sap, which may irritate your hands.
To peel off the fruit's skin, use a vegetable peeler while wearing
protective gloves or peel the fruit under running water.
STEP 2
Peel the chayote like you would an apple. Don't worry about getting
the peeler into the chayote's "crevice." You'll take off that skin in step
5.
Chayote's skin is often left unpeeled. Cooking eliminates any of the
irritating sap.
Chopping or slicing the chayote
TOOLS NEEDED
Vegetable Peeler
Sharp Knife
Cutting Board
STEP 1
Slice a small piece from the top.
The top is opposite from the
"crevice" or large wrinkle found in
most fruit.
STEP 4
If desired, slice the inside of the
"crevice" at an angle to remove
any skin.
STEP 2
Use the sliced area as a level
bottom to stand the chayote.
STEP 5
Remove the seed - optional. Cut
the halves into quarters. Using a
paring knife, cut around the seed
to remove.
STEP 3
Positioning the knife in the large
"crevice" or wrinkle, slice the
chayote in two.
STEP 6
Cut or chop as desired.
STEP 1
With a vegetable peeler, trim the brown edges off of the tips.
STEP 2
Slice off the ends of the starfruit, but don't discard until you
squeeze the juice out of the ends and add to the slices.
TOOLS NEEDED
Vegetable Peeler
Sharp Knife
Cutting Board
STEP 3
Poke out the seeds before and after slicing.
STEP 4
Slice into star-shaped pieces.
STEP 1
Cut the bottom off. Enough to
stabilize the fruit for the next step.
STEP 2
Slice the peel off using a
downward motion of the knife.
TOOLS NEEDED
Sharp Knife
Cutting Board
Serving Spoon
STEP 3
Turn the Solo on its side and trim
any remaining peel at the bottom.
STEP 6
With a large spoon, scoop out
seeds and white parts from each
half of the Solo.
STEP 7
The Solo should look like this
when the seeds are scooped out.
STEP 8
Scoop under the Solo, while
putting the blade of the knife on
top. Use to flip the Solo half over.
STEP 9
Slice lengthwise.
STEP 4
Cut the top off. About 1 to 2
inches in.
STEP 10
If desired, chop horizontally for
cubes or pieces.
STEP 5
Slice the Solo in half vertically.
STEP 1
All you need is a knife and a large
spoon.
STEP 2
Slice into the SlimCado from the stem.
Slice until you hit the seed.
STEP 3
Manuever around the seed on both
sides.
STEP 9
With a large spoon, go around the
outside of the skin and flesh. Then
scoop under, trying to stay as close as
possible to the skin.
STEP 10
Lift the flesh out.
STEP 11
With the spoon underneath, place the
blade of the knife on the cut side. Use
the two utensils to flip the avocado half
over.
TOOLS NEEDED
Sharp Knife
Cutting Board
Serving Spoon
STEP 4
Put the SlimCado on its side and slice
down to its bottom.
STEP 5
As you slice around the bottom, keep
an eye out for the cut on the other side,
so you can match up.
STEP 12
Ready to mash or to slice into slivers or
cubes.
STEP 13
For cubes, cut into the middle of the
SlimCado sideways.
STEP 14
Cut lengthwise and horizontally to get
the desired size cubes.
STEP 6
Lay both halves on the cutting board.
STEP 15
Enjoy.
STEP 7
With a knife, hit the seed. Lodge the
seed into the blade.
STEP 8
Lift up. Wiggle the seed to loosen.
STEP 1
Microwaving a lime for 30 seconds on high produces the best juicing
results.
STEP 2
Always juice a lime at room temperature. Roll the lime with the inside
of your hand on your countertop.
TOOLS NEEDED
Sharp Knife
Cutting Board
STEP 3
Slice vertically.
STEP 4
Ready for maximum juicing.
Fresh ginger how-tos
Fresh ginger is easy to work with once you know the ropes, or should I say hands. Ginger is cut into fan-shaped chunks that are called hands.
Taste test
Fresh ginger will deliver a more intense flavor than dried, powdered ginger. Try it. You'll see why you
don't substitute one for the other. There's another reason why.* You don't get the health benefits of fresh
ginger when using dried, powdered ginger.
While you're at it, get out that store-bought minced ginger jar in the refrigerator. Taste processed minced
ginger next to fresh. Fresh has a notable fresher, lighter taste and doesn't have the preservatives required
to keep it stored in a jar on the grocery store shelf for months.
How to use fresh ginger
Medallions - For recipes whose first step is heating up oil (Asian
stir-fry for example), medallions of ginger are a quick and easy
way to flavor the dish with ginger. Leave the skin on and just
slice into 1/4? thick circles or medallions. Add to the oil being
heated. The ginger medallions will flavor the oil and eventually
the recipe. Before adding any other ingredients take the ginger
medallions out.
Minced ginger - Most recipes call for minced ginger which is
fresh ginger finely grated.
It's easy to determine how much
ginger to use for a recipe. You'll get
about 2 tbs of minced ginger for
every 1 inch squared piece of fresh
ginger. For 2 tbs of minced ginger, I use my thumb's width and length (to the knuckle) to determine where to break off
the piece for the recipe.
But don't break off the ginger piece just yet. Let's say you want 2 tbs of minced ginger.
Lay the ginger on the countertop or hold the ginger in your hand, use a vegetable
peeler or back of a spoon to scrape off ginger's skin for the 1"x 1" area you want.
Ginger's skin is very paper-like and isn't hard to peel.
Get most of the skin off. They'll be some nooks and
crannies you can't get into with the 1? piece still on the
ginger hand. That's when you break the piece you want
off. Then peel off whatever skin remains.
Use a small grater or
micro planer to mince
the ginger. To prevent
scraped knuckles, I use
the holder from a
mandoline (the one
spikes on one side to
hold the veggie and a
comfortable handle on
the other side, to
protect my hands).
Storing
Store ginger hands in
your refrigerator or
freezer. Just wrap in
plastic to avoid ginger drying out. If storing in the refrigerator, wrap in moist paper towels before covering with plastic. Ginger will stay in the
refrigerator up to three weeks and up to three months in the freezer.
Substitutions?
Yes, you can use fresh ginger for crystalized ginger, just add sugar with the fresh ginger.
Replace a 1/2 cup of crystallized ginger with 2 tbs fresh ginger and 2 tbs sugar. Chop the fresh ginger coarsely to
resemble the shape of the crystallized version.
*Don't replaced fresh ginger with the dried ginger spice. Fresh ginger's gingerol converts to shogaol and zingerone.
Ginger spice not only tastes different, but loses the health benefits that it's known for. Shogaol and zinerone have
not been found to have any medicinal benefit.