Now here’s an opening line for you: this was the best darn fruit salad I’ve ever had.

And I mean every single word. It was utter perfection. Saintly, even. It combined fresh, sweet and light fruits such as papaya and mango with a more dense flavor like banana and the creamy avocado took it to such high levels one could not ever imagine a fruit salad to reach.

Then it was lightly drizzled with a mildly spicy and sweet peppadew dressing creating a combination of flavors and textures that was out of this world spectacular.

I’m just not that into sweet stuff, but feel free to wake me at any single moment of the night for this salad and I promise I won’t deck ya. Okay, so maybe there’s a slight chance I will, but I’ll try not to!

Ingredients:

1 papaya
1 mango
1 large banana
1 avocado
3 tbsp oil
3 sweet and spicy peppadew
1 tbsp peppadew liquid
2 tbsp apple or orange juice
1/3 lemon
pinch of salt

Optional: pineapple


Directions:

The recipe called for orange juice, which I didn’t have. What I did have on hand was apple juice. It worked! Combine the oil and juice in an immersion blender bowl or food processor.
 

World, meet my latest addiction: peppadew. Sweet and spicy ( two versions, mild and hot) peppers that add flavor and instant sweetness to your dishes.

These little red bombs really sucked me in. I add them almost anything, from chili to pasta sauce and even sandwiches. Used 3 for this recipe and 1 tbsp of the liquid from the can.

Squeeze in a little lemon juice and add a pinch of salt.
 

Blitz, blend or do whatever you must to turn this into a pretty orange dressing.

The stuff.



Papaya reminds me of the days when I was growing up. Papaya was my mom’s favorite fruit because it took her on a trip down memorylane; she spent big part of her childhood in Indonesia. Smell the papaya before you buy it, if it smells sweet, it’s ripe.


Cut the papaya in half.

No cupcake, chocolate bar or piece of candy in the world can replace the amazing flavor of papaya.

Carefully spoon out  the seeds (discard them) and be careful not to remove too much of the flesh.

I always use a medium-sized melon baller for salads like these; it just looks prettier. Feel free to chop it up, though.

Don’t throw away the skin. If your kids are anything like J-man, they will use it to make a boat.

Slice the mango—mine was a little too ripe—along the flat side next to the seed. I also use a melon baller on this one but you can also dice it.

Peel and slice the banana.

The original recipe called for fresh pineapple as well. I can definitely see how that would’ve made the salad even more perfect (if that’s even possible) but I sure wasn’t going to face the pouring rain for one, so I omitted it.

The avocado added magic to the salad. The buttery and nutty creaminess was exactly what made this salad stand out. There’s that melon baller again!

Divide the fruit over 4 bowls and spoon some of the peppadew dressing all over or serve it on the side. Garnish with thinly sliced peppadew strips.

 
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more perfect ending to a perfect dinner.

Muchas gracias to the people over at peppadew for letting me borrow (and tweak) their recipe. They have some amazing recipes over at their website!