Recipe of the Week: Papaya Bruschetta

Don't know about where you are, but it is one chilly, rainy all around dreary day here in Boston. Blech. What we need is a lift, a little something bright and sweet and mmmmm, tropical! Nothing else quite fits this bill like the papaya. Our Vitamin A-rich friend is great on its own or in a smoothie or switching up your typical salsa. But today we're offering up a recipe that puts the papaya in a setting few are likely to imagine - perched atop a nice slice of crusty French bread...  papaya's got a brand new baguette! (c'mon, like you could've resisted that one)

Papaya Bruschetta

You need:

• 1 papaya
• 5 plum tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• 2 green onions
• 1 French baguette, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Directions:

1. Cut papaya in half and remove seeds
2. Reserve 2 tablespoons of seeds for the dressing
3. Peel and dice the papaya and place in medium bowl
4. Add tomatoes, red onion, red pepper and basil and set aside
5. In a food processor or blender, combine the papaya seeds, sugar, wine vinegar, oil, mustard and green onions
6. Process until smooth and thick and most of the seeds have broken up
7. Pour over the papaya mixture and stirl to coat all of the ingredients
8. Serve on slices of baguette

Find more great fruit recipes on Ruma's web site!
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