Chunky Avocado-Papaya Salsa

Name: Chunky Avocado-Papaya Salsa
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Cuisine: mexican, thai
Ingredients: 2 medium-size ripe Hass avocados, halved, pitted and cut in small dice; 1 small ripe papaya, halved, seeded, peeled and cut in small dice (about 2 cups dice); 1 tart apple, unpeeled, or Asian pear, peeled if desired, cored and cut in small dice; 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice; 1 fresh red or green serrano chile, seeded and thinly sliced or minced, or more to taste; 1/4 cup chopped cilantro; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint; 1/2 small red onion, diced small, soaked for 5 minutes in water to cover, drained and rinsed (optional); Salt to taste

By Martha Rose Shulman

Updated May 6, 2024

Chunky Avocado-Papaya Salsa — Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Total Time: 20 minutes
Rating: 4(74)
Notes: Read community notes

This is based on a recipe in Kim Sunée’s wonderful new book, “A Mouthful of Stars” (Andrews McMeel). Her recipe is more of a salad, a fusion of Thai and Mexican flavors. I loved the idea of combining avocado and papaya, two subtle, creamy fruits, with crunchy, bright-tasting Asian pears and spicy chiles. The first time I saw the recipe I wanted to test it right away, but I didn’t have Asian pears. So I used an apple, and loved it. It’s the sweet, crunchy fruit that does the trick, and apples and Asian pears both work. There are onions in the original recipe but I’ve made them optional.

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 6 to 8

2medium-size ripe Hass avocados, halved, pitted and cut in small dice
1small ripe papaya, halved, seeded, peeled and cut in small dice (about 2 cups dice)
1tart apple, unpeeled, or Asian pear, peeled if desired, cored and cut in small dice
¼cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1fresh red or green serrano chile, seeded and thinly sliced or minced, or more to taste
¼cup chopped cilantro
2tablespoons chopped fresh mint
½small red onion, diced small, soaked for 5 minutes in water to cover, drained and rinsed (optional)
Salt to taste

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Combine diced avocados and papaya in a medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients and toss together. Season to taste with salt. Serve as a salad or a salsa.

Tip

Advance preparation: This will last for a couple of hours but is best eaten shortly after assembling.

Ratings

4 out of 5

74 user ratings

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Baxter2 years ago

Is green papaya?

nancyliz2 years ago

It’s a roll of the dice. The avocados weren’t entirely ripe and the papaya wasn’t even close. But, I added more apples and served it with steelhead, and it was good! No cilantro, thank you.

Mary4 years ago

Made a few variations: used one avocado, an apple instead of papaya, a jalapeno pepper instead of serrano chile and no cilantro (I'm one of those who can't stand the stuff). Delicious and not at all runny; possibly due to the apple/papaya swap.

Jane6 years ago

Delicious. Flavor very nice. Apple adds a nice crunch. I found that juice gathers in the bottom of the dish within an hour of making, which makes a salsa a little runny.

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