Mango, Papaya & Strawberry Salad

For my Cooking for a Cause party, I wanted to serve a fresh salad to help balance what seemed like a bread heavy menu. The host indicated he really enjoyed eating mangoes and asked me to include them in some way. I toyed with the idea of serving a lettuce or spinach based salad with a mango topping. However, when I passed by a bundle of papayas while shopping for ingredients, I knew it would be a perfect combination with the mangoes.

I originally tested a couple of vinaigrette ideas, but most seemed to mask the flavor of the fruit. The fresh lime juice gave the salad the kick it needed to really let the mango and papaya sing a single note. Then, I noticed I had a few extra strawberries from my fresh fruit tray. It was the perfect last minute touch for creating bursts of red in the salad.

Clean and crisp are the best way to describe the flavor. It’s all about the natural sweetness coming together as one unit for maximum impact. I know that strawberry season is pretty much over for most parts of the country. Not to fear, I think diced kiwi would be a perfect alternative.

Mango, Papaya & Strawberry Salad
3 mangos, peeled and diced
1 medium papaya, seeded and peeled
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
2 Tbl fresh lime juice
1 tsp. sugar

Dice the papaya into medium sized chunk. Lightly toss all of the ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Garnish with lime zest for color. Serves 4-6 people as a side.

Authors Note: The amount of sugar is really dependent on the sweetness of the fruit. My mangoes were pretty ripe so very little sugar was needed.

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