Baked Papaya

Muffin Goddess's Note:

Adapted from The New York Times cookbook. Posted for ZWT.

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 3 papayas , firm but ripe (the sweeter Hawaiian variety is probably best here)
• 1 vanilla bean , cut into 6 pieces
• 6 teaspoons butter
• 12 teaspoons brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
2. Peel the papayas, split them in half lengthwise and remove the seeds.
3. Arrange the prepared papayas, cut side up, in a large baking dish filled with approximately 1/2 inch of water.
4. Place one piece of vanilla bean, 1 tsp butter and 2 teaspoons brown sugar in the center of each papaya half.
5. Bake for 45 minutes, or until tender.

Reviews

[Debbwl]

Very nice treat! The vanilla bean was a nice addition and the syrup the center went nicely with the Arepas that I served with this. Thanks for the post.

[Chef 565650 Jim]

A delightful way to eat that reasonable fruit (at least in our area) that I certainly hadn't thought about. Roasting "pumps up" the rather bland flavor of this fruit. Bumped it up a bit by adding sliced strawberries, a little rum, and lemon slices (and the vanilla bean of course.) My wife said this would be a wonderful dessert served with vanilla ice cream. I served it with pork chops, rice, and a green salad. What a great meal. It is to make again for sure. Jim in So Calif

[Wrecka]

Suprisingly good. This turned a mediocre (slightly overripe and not very sweet) papaya into a wonderful treat. The vanilla brings out the aromatic flavors in the papaya, I used real vanilla extract and added a bit of spiced rum as one reviewer suggested. I can't wait to try this again with a higher quality papaya.