Papaya

Try these as appetizers, as a salad (on a bed of greens) or as a light dessert.

Green papaya salad in all its regional variations - often flavored with pork, beef, or shrimp (as below)-is hugely popular throughout Southeast Asia. The dish is made from unripe Southeast Asian papayas, which have firm white flesh and white seeds. The current popularity of Vietnamese and Thai food in the United States has increased these papayas' availability, although it is still generally limited to Asian markets. Such papayas can grow to the size of cantaloupes or larger and range in shape from oval to round. Look for rock-hard dark green fruit without a trace of pink or yellow blush. If you don't see any, ask (some shopkeepers do not display them). Those who can't find the right kind of papaya might skip the salad or substitute seedless (European) cucumbers despite the repetition with the main course. Those who can find Southeast Asian green papayas will be treated to a salad that our food editors found irresistible.

Simply omit the ginger for a classic crème brûlée. A small blowtorch (made for the kitchen) is a useful gadget for caramelizing the sugar topping. You can also broil the custards until the sugar turns dark brown.

There is no oil in this most original salad.

Anywhere you go in Laos, you will find women patiently preparing papaya for this salad. Using a small machete-like knife, they make repeated shallow parallel cuts, each about 1/8 inch deep, in a section of the papaya. Then they scrape the papaya from top to bottom so they end up with very nice julienne. A food processor fitted with the julienne disk or a manual slicer such as a mandoline works equally well.

At the Princeville Hotel on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai, a mixture of dried and fresh fruits is used to fill the pork. Begin preparing this dish one day before serving.

This recipe was created to accompany <epi:recipeLink id "11847">Grilled Teriyaki Pork Chops with Pineapple Papaya Relish</epi:recipeLink>.</a> Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

At the ranch, Lisa Ahier makes this salsa with and without avocado. At Gourmet, we liked it with.

Wonton wrappers are used for these samosas instead of traditional pastry dough. Betelnut Pejiu Wu in San Francisco serves them with a tropical chutney.

Light, refreshing and very sophisticated. Asian pears have a crisp texture, a round shape, and a sweet and floral aroma that's quite unlike that of the more familiar buttery "pear-shaped" pear.

Similar in texture to lemon bars, these have a shortbread cookie base and a delightful tropical fruit filling.

The recipe for the coconut pudding is adapted from Mexican Light Cooking by Santa Fe-based chef Kathi Long.

These versatile quesadilla can be passed as hors d'oeuvres, or offered at dinner as a first course or at lunch as the entrée.

(Batido) This milk shake is a Puerto Rican and Cuban favorite; Palacio de Los Jugos on Flagler Street in Miami specializes in jugos and makes great tropical-fruit batidos. The fruit combinations are endless — try a mixture of strawberry and kiwi or guava and pineapple — and you can even use coconut milk instead of whole and spike with a shot of rum.

If rice pudding is getting a little too comfortable, try our version with fresh pineapple, mango, and papaya. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 30 min

When making this salad, which is lightly spiked with jalapeño pepper, have all the ingredients prepared ahead. Then just toss them together as close to serving time as possible to keep the flavors fresh.