Best RecipesEsi Fafao - Stuffed Papayas News Recipes

To be honest, this recipe almost didn't make it to the blog. After hollowing out the papaya, I thought, "Stuff the blog. I'm just going to eat this papaya right here, right now." But thanks to my incredible powers of self-control, I managed to get these into the oven and even hold off eating them until I had taken the photos. 

Which is a lie. 
I ate one papaya, and stuffed the other.
Pfft! You wouldn't have known.


Now, you can make this with green papaya, but I like the taste of almost ripe papaya better. It adds a sweetness to the dish, much like pumpkin or carrots. 


Serve this hot out of the oven with rice and a salad. 


Esi Fafao (serves 4)
2 papaya
1 small onion
1 red pepper
4 cloves garlic
½ cup fresh parsley
½ cup fresh basil
1 tablespoon oil
½ pound (250 grams) ground beef
1 cup grated cheese 
¼ cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
2 tomatoes
salt and pepper
extra grated cheese for topping (optional)


Preheat the oven to 350°F(180°C).


Halve the papayas. Spoon out the seeds and discard. Scoop out some papaya flesh and put that aside (it will be added to the meat mixture). Be sure to leave enough flesh all around the inside of the skin to hold the filling. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet (use foil wedges to keep them from rolling around, if necessary).


Dice the onion and pepper. Finely chop the garlic, and roughly chop the parsley and basil. 


Heat the oil in a frypan and brown the beef. Drain off the fat, then return to the heat, adding the onions, peppers and garlic. Cook until fragrant then turn the heat off. Cool slightly, then throw in the rest of the ingredients, including the reserved papaya flesh. Season the mixture to taste. 


Divide evenly between the papaya shells, top with a little more grated cheese if desired, and bake for 50-60 minutes. 

Best RecipesPapaya, Pawpaw - Esi News Recipes

The papaya can be used both raw and ripe. When it's raw, use it like a vegetable in pickles, salads and savoury dishes. When it's cooked it tastes a lot like squash. Green papaya is also a wonderful meat tenderiser so use it to soften up steaks for the grill, but reserve the tenderising marinade and cook that up too, because it will be extra flavourful from the meat. 


If you have ripe papayas, the subtle sweetness of the fruit is perfect for desserts and drinks, or eat them as nature intended, au naturel (the fruit, not you!).  


And here are two interesting facts that only the real kuabacks know: If you get bitten by a mosquito - high chance of that in Samoa - then use the white sap of the raw papaya (white stuff just under the skin) to reduce the itch. To stop getting bitten in the first place, just burn some papaya leaves - mosquitos hate the smell.


Happy cooking everyone!