Tuesday, 26 March 2013

Food Bucket List: Meyer Lemons

This is going to be a rambling post. Just a heads up.

Lemon Curd: It's delicious and I needed something bright and sweet. The fact that I had a bag of Meyer lemons in the fridge giving me the hairy eyeball before they went to waste also didn't hurt.

I've been reading about Meyer lemons for a long time. They have been described a bit like a semi-mythical beast: a lemon that has bright colour, very little tart flavour, a bit of a floral scent and sweetness to them... but still certainly a citrus, and not at all an orange. They sounded about as close to perfection as my idealized citrus was likely to get, and I am someone who loves lemons. However, they have exceptionally thin skins and as a result do not travel well at all. I've had a few years worth of chronic envy of those lucky people who live where the Meyer lemons grow. They are an item on my Food Bucket List.

And then they showed up at Costco.

Yes, I know I shouldn't be munching things from too far away for environmental reasons. And most of the time, I am exceptionally good at monitoring my food footprint and making sure things are as local as I can get them. However, I am sometimes foiled by two things - 1) my student budget, which sometimes, perversely makes the local, more expensive stuff a no-go for me, and 2) my taste-buds, which occasionally demand treats like pomegranates and papayas that in no way grow where I am from. I do my best to make sure when I have to have the far flung luxuries that they are at least in season where they come from. And then I walk or take the bus everywhere, my version of an off-set system.

So when these quasi-mythic lemons showed up at Costco, I couldn't resist. I picked up the bag and resolved to enjoy the smithereens out of them.

Then life happened. And the bag sat in my fridge, front and centre, reminding me that they were there and needed to be used. And life kept happening. I found myself packing my fridge and heading to my Aunt's to cat-companion while the family is away. And they end up in another fridge. But this one is better... because it comes in a house that has a rasp grater. Which can only mean one thing: it's time for curd. I went hunting a recipe for curd online that specifically mentioned Meyer lemons, figuring a more standard lemon curd recipe would probably come out too sweet if the milder Meyers were substituted straight across. I was also hoping to find one that didn't call for 8 egg yolks or two cups of butter, because although those versions are undoubtably lush, I find the lemon flavour to be muted and that was not the goal. After following links and reviewing about a half dozen recipes, I ended up at Fine Cooking and found the one I wanted to try. And it was awesome.

Lemon Curd
(yields ~2 cups)


3 oz. (6 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature 
1 cup sugar 
2 large eggs 
2 large egg yolks 
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from roughly 6 Meyer lemons)
1 tsp. grated lemon zest 

Start with your lemons - wash and dry them.


I ended up juicing one without zesting it to see how it went. They definitely have a much thinner skin than the lemons I am used to. So juicy!


I zested all of my lemons, figuring that I would use the zest required in the recipe and then spread the rest out to dry so I could make some lemon sugar, or perhaps some lemon finishing salt. After zesting the lemons, I cut each one in half, and juiced them by jabbing them repeatedly with a fork and mushing all the juice out. Not particularly elegant, but effective, and I couldn't locate another juicing tool in this less familiar kitchen.


Then I grabbed a large bowl and added the butter and sugar.


I creamed the butter by hand until it was smooth, although the original recipe advocates an electric mixer. Really, it's whatever you have on hand. Once the butter and sugar are well-creamed, add the eggs and egg yolks (reserve the whites for another use) and cream again until fairly smooth.


Add the lemon juice and stir well to combine. If it looks a little curdled at this stage, don't fret, it will smooth out as soon as it heats up in the next step. Mine was fairly smooth.


Choose an appropriately sized sauce pan (remember that you have to be able to stir this emulsion), and pour the mixture into it. Warm under low heat until the butter in the mixture has completely melted and everything is very smooth - this took about 5 minutes for me.

Hard to see, perhaps, but everything is silky.
Once the butter has melted, turn the heat up to medium, and heat for ~15 minutes, stirring constantly. The constant stirring and medium heat will prevent the eggs from scrambling in the pan. Because that would not be cool. You'll notice things really starting to thicken up around the 10 minute mark, but don't shy on the time or it won't be as thick as it should be once it cools.

Hard to see, perhaps, but much thicker.
Once the curd is thick enough that you leave a trail when you drag your finger across the back of the stirring spoon (the original recipe has an excellent photo of this if you want the visual reference; I forgot to take a shot to illustrate this myself), remove it from the heat and pour it into an appropriately sized bowl. Add the lemon zest.


I ended up adding 2 teaspoons zest, because one wasn't quite giving me the punch I wanted. Stir the zest into the curd. Ta-da! All done.

To cool, place a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Wrap the bowl well, and place in the fridge to cool.



The curd will thicken, and its flavour will strengthen as it cools. Once it has fully cooled, it is ready - you can use it to fill tarts,  have it on toast, use it as a filling for sandwich cookies (mmm... macarons), or just eat it with a spoon. I read somewhere that someone whips some into their buttercream icing... That could be fun...

I hope all of my Food Bucket List experiences are this delicious. ^_^

Shakshuka

I made this close to a week ago, but life has conspired to prevent me from getting this posted. Apologies! Also, I have a job interview on Thursday, which is a very good thing. I am hopeful it results in work, as that would simplify my life an amazing amount.

So... Shakshuka... Yotam says that this dish is North African in origin, and that there are many variations, which can include preserved lemon, feta, and a variety of herbs and spices. So if you like it but feel like tweaking it, you aren't likely to be breaking any firm culinary traditions. As usual, the ingredients are as listed in the book and the written description includes my observations and any adaptations.

Shakshuka
(p. 87, Plenty)

Serves 4 generously (<--- definitely not kidding about that)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3/4 cup light olive oil, or vegetable oil
2 large onions, sliced
2 red bell peppers, cut into 3/4-inch strips
2 yellow bell peppers, cut into 3/4-inch strips
4 tsp muscovado sugar
2 bay leaves
6 thyme sprigs, leaves picked and chopped
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp chopped cilantro, plus extra to garnish
6 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp saffron threads
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and black pepper
up to 1 1/8 cups water
8 eggs

Assemble ingredients!


As you can probably tell from the picture, I halved the recipe as I was just feeding myself. I also substituted light brown sugar for the muscovado, as I didn't have any - the best substitute is as dark a brown sugar as you can find if you can't get the real thing. Muscovado sugar has a definite molasses presence. And I can see how that would contribute another nuance to the dish. But plain brown sugar worked well enough. ^_^ Do not substitute dried parsley for fresh, it will be stale and gross. You could probably get away with dried thyme (probably 1/4 tsp?) if you had to, but the fresh is preferable. If you don't have cumin seeds, you can get away with substituting the same amount ground cumin.

To start, in a *very* large pan dry-roast the cumin seeds on high heat for two minutes. Add the oil and the onions and saute for 5 minutes. Add the peppers, the sugar and herbs, and continue to cook on high heat for another 5-10 minutes or until everything starts to take on some colour.



Add the tomatoes, saffron, cayenne and some salt and pepper.


Reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. If the pan starts to dry out, add some water. You are attempting to create something that had a pasta sauce consistency. I found I did not need any water.

Taste and adjust the seasoning (I did find a little salt to be a good thing here, to balance the sweetness a bit). Everything should be potent and flavourful.


I got to this stage in the recipe and realized I'd forgotten the eggs that were called for in the recipe, and what was more, I didn't have any in the fridge. So I decided to enjoy it as it was - and enjoy it I did!

To finish the recipe properly, remove the bay leaves from the pan, and divide the saucy vegetables among four smaller pans or individual baking dishes, if you want to go with an individual serving. Create two gaps in each serving of vegetables, and carefully break an egg into each of the gaps. Cook on very gentle heat for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the egg whites are cooked and the yolks are just set. Remove from the oven, garnish with cilantro, and serve.

That said, it's pretty fantastic without the eggs... and I think it would be fine if I scrambled them in another pan and added them to the dish at the end (My personal avoidance of the soft egg yolks shows itself again...). I found that there was a lot of oil in this dish, and that the total amount could probably be reduced safely to 1/2 cup estimating by the amount of oil that remained behind in the pan and the storage container as I had it for subsequent meals.

...I also think it would be really good on a pizza. Not even kidding. Perhaps that isn't so surprising though, as Yotam says it is best served with a lot of chunky white bread as a side dish.

Tuesday, 19 March 2013

Smoky Frittata

This is delicious. Unexpectedly so, actually, given that I don't particularly care for smoked foods (something that drives my chipotle-loving Aunt to give me weird looks from time to time). For me, smoked food only makes sense if I am in an environment where there is, in fact, smoke - like a campfire, or a barbecue. Otherwise, it often comes across as overwhelming and so I avoid it. I know this is not true for everyone - my ex loves all things smoky, from scotch, to tea, to cheese. There were so many things about preparing this recipe tonight made me think of him and how he'd probably like this dish. I hope to get to a point where it's easier to send him things like this; right now it seems to complicate things further, and neither of us need that. But those ruminations are for another time and place. On to the food!

Yotam opens this recipe with " 'Scamorza affumicata' is an Italian cheese that melts fantastically. Often labelled 'smoked mozzarella,' it is highly effective in adding depth and pungency to vegetarian dishes." He's right. And it turns out I quite enjoy it's softly smoky, creamy goodness when it is melted. The cauliflower is an excellent canvas for the other flavours of this dish - a mildly sweet foundation for the dairy notes, the slight heat and brine of the mustard, the sharpness of the salt. It comes together very quickly and then leaves you free to throw together a brief salad or other side dish. I recommend some arugula dressed in a vinaigrette made with some grainy mustard and grated parmesan... As usual, the ingredients are as listed in the book, but the commentary includes my observations and alterations.

Smoky Frittata
(p. 96, Plenty)

Serves 4-6

1 small cauliflower, cut into medium florets
6 eggs
4 tbsp creme fraiche
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
3 tbsp finely chopped chives
5 oz smoked scamorza, grated (include the skin for extra flavour)
2 oz mature Cheddar, grated
salt and black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

Assemble ingredients!


A few substitutions and alterations to start: I only had 5 eggs, so I touched up the liquids a bit with some almond milk to approximate the volume. I had 6 oz of scamorza, so I reduced the second cheese by an ounce to compensate as I didn't want an ounce of smoky cheese floating around in the fridge. I substituted Parmesan for the cheddar, as that was what I had on hand. I substituted a non-fat Greek yogurt that I know I can eat for the creme fraiche. I also was shy on chives, and so substituted an equal amount of finely diced yellow onion. I prefer a particular whole grain mustard to Dijon, and so made that substitution as well.

To start, simmer the bite-size pieces of cauliflower in a large pan of boiling salted water for only 4-5 minutes or until semi-cooked.


 Drain in a colander, and let dry.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Break the eggs into a large bowl. Add the creme fraiche, mustard, and paprika to the bowl.


Whisk them together well, making sure the creme fraiche and eggs become a smooth mixture. Add the chives/onion, three-quarters of the cheeses, and some salt and pepper.


Stir everything together and set aside for a moment.


Heat up the olive oil in a large, ovenproof frying pan - this is important, so I am going to say it twice - ovenproof. Fry the drained cauliflower for roughly 5 minutes, or until one side is a golden brown. I ended up using a rosemary-infused olive oil for this step, and it smelled amazing. My thanks to Ivano, who gifted me with the oil - it's delightful!

Stir the cauliflower so no pieces are sticking to the bottom of the pan, and then pour the egg and cheese mixture over the cauliflower pieces. Smooth things out so that everything is fairly level across the entire base of the pan.


Cook on medium heat, uncovered, for about 5 minutes. The edges will start to set up a bit during this time. Scatter the remaining cheese over the surface of the egg mixture, and then carefully put the pan in the oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the frittata is fully set.



Carefully pull the pan out of the oven and let rest for 2 or 3 minutes before cutting into wedges to serve. If you have a poor memory like mine, you might want to leave a tea-towel or oven mitt over the pan handle to remind yourself that it's hot. ^_^

Then enjoy!


This was fantastic, as I said earlier. I also think that I'd keep the rosemary oil as part of my working recipe in future versions - there was something highly complimentary about the resinous quality of the rosemary and the smoky presence of the scamorza. I think that if I didn't have any of the rosemary oil, it would be worth adding up to a half-tablespoon of fresh rosemary to impart the flavour. So good.  Most definitely making this again, and I think it would be good "company food" - really straightforward to put together, quick to get on the table, and tastes far more complex than you'd think from the short ingredient list.  *nom nom nom*

Eggplant with Buttermilk Sauce

This recipe is dedicated to the lovely Christine for "helping" me buy the book (really, she just looked over my shoulder and said "I'd eat that" a half dozen times... that's good enough for me!) and to Sylvia Moon, because of this image she posted to tumblr a while ago:


...which is, in fact an altered cover of Plenty, and specifically, the image for the recipe this post is dedicated to. I laughed out loud when I saw this, especially because of all the beautiful things I intend to get to from Pinterest... which will happen, eventually. Right? Right. 

I made this recipe about a week ago, but unfortunately did something stupid to my back and the pain management and mobility issues that came from it has proved to be a huge distraction from life. Today I  was able to see my doctor and have much better solutions. So much so that I am feeling remarkably chipper for the first time in about a week, which inspired a lot of catching up on things I've been neglecting, including updating here and cooking up another recipe. So here we go... As usual, the ingredients are as listed in the book and the written description includes my observations and alterations.


Eggplant with Buttermilk Sauce
(p. 110, Plenty)

Serves 4 as a starter

2 large and long eggplants
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp lemon thyme leaves, plus a few whole sprigs to garnish (regular thyme will do)
Maldon sea salt and black pepper
1 pomegranate
1 tsp za'atar

Sauce
9 tbsp buttermilk
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to finish
1 small garlic clove, crushed
pinch of salt

Assemble ingredients!



To begin, I halved the recipe as I was only feeding myself. The only substitution for this recipe was regular fleur de sel instead of the Maldon sea salt as I didn't have any at the time. That has since changed and I am excited. I know it probably sounds silly to be excited about salt, but the Maldon sea salt is worth picking up. It has a fairly unique shape and sharpness to it that I really enjoy. I was also excited to use the za'atar that I ordered a while ago from Silk Road - it has a really fascinating flavour profile. I have played with it a bit and like it on eggs, with wilted spinach, mixed in with garlic and chive biscuits, and even on popcorn. I think it's going to be a regular thing in my pantry.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Cut the eggplant(s) in half lengthwise, cutting straight through the stem. The inclusion of the stalk is for show, you don't want to eat it. Using a sharp knife, make three to five parallel incisions along the cut side of each eggplant half - you want to go through the flesh, but not so deep that you pierce the skin on the other side. Repeat the cutting at a 45 degree angle so that you end up with a diamond shaped pattern.


Place the eggplant halves, cut side up, on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Brush each half with olive oil, and keep brushing them until all of the first measure of oil has been soaked up. This takes a little time, but the eggplants behave like thirsty little sponges, so keep at it. Once all of the oil has been absorbed, sprinkle with the thyme and some salt and pepper. Apparently I forgot to take a picture of them before I put them in the oven. My apologies.

Roast the eggplant for 35-40 minutes, until the flesh is soft, flavourful, and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.



While the eggplant is in the oven, cut the pomegranate in half and seed it so that the arils are free of any of the white pith. There are a few ways of doing this, and I've discussed them here if you are interested.

To make the sauce, whisk together the yogurt, buttermilk, olive oil, garlic, and some salt. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if required, then keep cold until needed.

To serve, spoon plenty of the buttermilk sauce over the eggplant halves without covering the stalks, Sprinkle za'atar and a generous amount of the pomegranate seeds over top of the sauce and garnish with the reserved thyme. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, if desired.

Then enjoy!

A few notes: You definitely want a ripe and juicy pomegranate for this recipe. Mine was just slightly past its prime and it was noticeable because there are so few ingredients comprising the dish. Also, if you enjoy the flavour of the za'atar, you may want to sprinkle the eggplants with a bit of it before they go in for roasting. I also finely chopped my garlic rather than leaving the crushed clove floating in the sauce bowl. If you don't have lemon thyme, I'd add ~1/4 tsp grated lemon zest to the thyme leaves you are using, just to add that flavour accent, or use a citrus-infused olive oil if you have one on hand. This was surprisingly easy to make, and incredibly good. I will definitely make this again and possibly serve it with the Pomegranate Barley Salad for a more robust meal.

Tuesday, 12 March 2013

Stuffed Zucchini

Yotam says this recipe "is a bastardized version of a Turkish original. Serve it cold, just above fridge temperature, with goat's-milk yogurt". I was shy the goat's milk yogurt, but plain Greek seems to work okay. ^_^

As usual, the ingredients and proportions are as listed in the book, and the recipe description incorporates my observations and substitutions.

Stuffed Zucchini
(p. 69, Plenty)

Serves 6 as a starter

1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2/3 cup short-grain rice
2 tbsp currants
1 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsp chopped parsley, plus extra for garnish
1/2 tsp dried mint
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3 tbsp lemon juice
3 medium zucchini
3/4 cup boiling water
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
salt and black pepper

Assemble ingredients!


A few substitutions and alterations to begin - I scaled this down to two small zucchini as I was just feeding myself, although I made the full amount of the filling, figuring I could eat it as is later on. I absentmindedly used the last of the currants in my oatmeal yesterday, and so substituted an equal amount chopped, dried cranberries for the currants. It worked fairly well. I also substituted pecans for the pine nuts, and fresh mint for the dried mint as I wasn't able to find dried mint. Lastly, I was out of lemon juice, and substituted lime juice instead.

To start, saute the chopped onion in the oil in a medium frying pan until the onion is softened.


Add the rice, currants, nuts, parsley, mint, spices, and half the citrus juice.


Stir everything together and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The rice will still be hard at the end of this stage - don't worry.


While the rice mixture is cooking, halve the zucchini lengthways along the centre. Use a spoon to scoop out some of the flesh to make "boats".


Place the boats into a shallow saucepan that is large enough for them to all fit nestled side by side. I ended up using my large frying pan for this step. Fill each boat with enough stuffing that the indentations are filled and some of the filling is mounded slightly on top.


Pour the boiling water, remaining citrus juice, sugar, and some salt around the zucchini in the pan. The liquid should come partway up the sides of the zucchini, but should not come high enough to touch the filling.

Hard to see, but the liquid is in the pan.
Simmer, covered, for 30-40 minutes, basting the filling occasionally with the cooking juices. The zucchini are ready when the rice is al dente and almost all of the juices have evaporated.



Allow to cool completely before putting into the refrigerator to chill. Once the zucchini is fully chilled, garnish with parsley to serve.


I think that the small zucchini I opted to use were in fact too small for this recipe - my zucchini were fully cooked before the rice hit the el dente stage. Not by too much, but slightly crunchy rice didn't suit the dish. I am not sure if that is what is putting me off about this dish, or if it is something else, but I am not as happy with it as I expected to be when I set out to make it. It's good, but it seems to be missing something to make it really pop. I wonder if adding some pomegranate arils as a garnish might help? Or perhaps cooking the rice mixture separately and adding some chopped celery or the pomegranate arils before filling the boats and proceeding with the rest of the recipe? Something to think about, anyway...

The reduced simmering liquid creates a delightful pan caramel if you let it go long enough. That was an unexpected bonus. ^_^

Tuesday, 5 March 2013

Sweet Winter Slaw (aka Kaleidoscope Salad)

It was Cheap Tuesday at the grocery stores today. That meant I cleaned out the fridge, grabbed my bags, and trundled off with my list of things I wanted to taste this month. I came home with four bags bulging with colour and flavour, and knew I needed to make something delightful to celebrate the simple, everyday awesome of being able to buy groceries. I decided on the Sweet Winter Slaw from Plenty. Possibly the best culinary decision of my life.

This salad is like a party in your mouth. I'm not even joking. It's a little extra work to put the dressing together and caramelize the nuts, but it's absolutely worth it. I am going to be making this again and again and again... And I can see a lot of flexibility with the fruit. Don't have a papaya? Add the seeds of a pomegranate. Don't have a mango? Add orange segments. Or blood orange segments, if you have them. A word of caution though - this salad has some heat to it. If you don't like hot food (thinking of my lovely Stepmother right now) or are feeding tiny mouths, you may want to scale back the chile flakes and the red chile to suit yourselves. It's possible that the reason my salad has a fair amount of kick is because I didn't strain the dressing as recommended, and instead left it alone for an hour and a half while I went to yoga... or the fact that red chiles were not to be had at the grocery so I substituted a (what tasted like mild) green chile... Also, I accidentally omitted the olive oil from the dressing, which would tone things down some. All of these things would change the heat level to some degree, so it could be the heat of my salad is not inherent to the properly made recipe.

Regardless, delicious.

As usual, the ingredients are as listed in the book, and the recipe description includes my own alterations and observations.

Sweet Winter Slaw
(p. 102, Plenty)

Serves 6

Dressing
6 1/2 tbsp lime juice
1 lemongrass stalk, chopped into small pieces
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp chile flakes
4 tbsp light olive oil or sunflower oil

Salad
1 1/4 cups macadamia nuts
2 tsp butter
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chile flakes
7 inner leaves of Savoy cabbage (6 oz total), finely shredded
1/2 red cabbage (10 oz total), finely shredded
1 mango, cut into thin strips
1 papaya, cut into strips
1 fresh red chile, seeded and finely sliced
1/4 cup mint, leaves picked and roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups cilantro, leaves picked and roughly chopped

Assemble ingredients!


The only substitution that was made for this recipe was that of peanuts for the macadamia nuts. Macadamia nuts are difficult to find and fairly expensive; I thought peanuts would work mostly because of experiences I have had with Thai and Vietnamese food. I wasn't wrong, although I'd like to try it with the more mild macadamia nuts sometime. I used the lemongrass in a tube, as it was available, and the glass jar on the far left is my maple syrup. I also used sugar that I'd infused with lime zest because I had some kicking around and thought it might be fun.

To make the dressing: place all of the dressing ingredients, except for the oil, in a small saucepan and reduce over high heat for 5-10 minutes, until thick and syrupy.



Remove from heat. Once the dressing is cool, strain it through some cheesecloth into a bowl and add the oil. Put aside for later. Or you can forget the oil like I did. Which wasn't bad, but I think its absence contributes to a more feisty dressing. I think the next time I make this, I'd reduce the sesame oil to 1 1/2 tbsp, as I found it just a skitch overpowering.

To caramelize the nuts: in a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the sugar, salt, and chile flakes. On an open bit of counter or a table where it won't be disturbed for a while, place a piece of parchment paper roughly the size of a cookie sheet. You'll be pouring the caramelized nuts onto this in a few moments.


In a frying pan that gives you enough room to stir without escapees, dry roast the nuts for a few moments, stirring occasionally, until they are lightly coloured on all sides. This requires some attention or they will burn and taste bitter. When the nuts are toasted and smell aromatic, add the butter and allow it to melt completely. When it has melted, add the sugar/salt/chile flakes and stir constantly so that it will coat the nuts in the sugar as it caramelizes. This step goes pretty fast - it will only take 1 to 2 minutes, and the sugar can burn quickly.



Turn the caramelized nuts out onto the parchment paper and spread them a bit. Let them cool and then roughly chop them if you deem it necessary. I didn't chop the peanuts, but I can see the macadamias needing it.

Mine got a little dark. Still tasty though.
To assemble the salad: In a large bowl, place the shredded cabbages and the rest of the salad ingredients, including the nuts. I found it was fun to build them up in layers, but I was mostly amusing myself.





Add the cooled dressing and toss everything together (this salad very much reminded me of a kaleidoscope while mixing). I found this was best accomplished with my hands. Taste the salad and add more salt if you deem it necessary (I didn't). Serve, and enjoy immensely.


I was hesitant about the papaya at the beginning because I am not usually too keen on it, but it worked incredibly well in here. Beautiful and flavourful. ^_^