September 14, 2008

Papaya Steak


I've been meaning to write this post ever since my bridal shower in July. My awesome friend Ellen planned the shower at Alissa Cohen's new raw vegan restaurant in Boston's North End, Grezzo. Sweet!

Of the group, only Ellen and I were familiar with raw food but everyone was adventurous. It was definitely a conversation piece as well: "How did they make these breadsticks? What on earth is THAT? What's kombucha?"

After our meal we had a special trip to the kitchen to learn a few things about preparing raw food. The chef showed us how to make a Papaya steak that looked remarkably like salmon. It's a hunk of papaya marinated in apple cider vinegar and spices. Tastes like chicken! Just kidding, it did not taste like chicken.

It tastes somewhat savory and definitely juicy though. I know because last weekend Max and I went back for dinner, and ordered the papaya. For $21 you don't get a heck of a lot of food (and raw vegans know you don't need much, but for the occassional epicurean adventurer, beware) but it sure was tasty with the accompanying garlicy 'pasta.' We also ordered an absolutely delicious Farmer's Market lasagna with creamy, creamy delicious nut-cheese. To drink I had a $5 stick of rosemary in hot water. Not raw, I suppose, and not worth $5, but interesting nonetheless.

Then we went and got cappuccinos because we are not perfect people. It was the first caffeinated drink I've had in months and I was up all night. Lesson learned...

On another note, I will be away for a week at Kripalu starting, oh...in about 10 minutes! Very excited and will hopefully come back with some good topics to share.

6 comments:

Helen said...

I want to try to go raw for 2 days a week. Having been thinking about this for some time I am still thinking about it! Sometime I shall get round to it.

Michelle said...

hippolyra--Raw was great in the spring and summer but now that fall is here I'm actually going back to cooking most of my food. So maybe try it when the weather warms up and fresh raw veggies sound appealing again :-)

amandalouden said...

Hey Michelle

Here's that recipe you were looking for...

Hi, Amanda - this is a great recipe if your friend has a juicer - if not, I would substitute garbanzo beans (like you suggested) for the carrots and skip most of the mayo:

Vegan Tuna Salad Recipe
Ingredients:
5 pounds carrots, peeled
2 stalks celery
1 bell pepper, chopped (optional)
1/2 - 1 small red onion, diced or minced
1 large tomato
1/2 cup Eggless Mayo (Nayonnaise)
2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon sea salt or other salt substitute
2 teaspoons kelp seasoning or kelp powder

Directions:
Juice the carrots in an electric juicer. Save the pulp to make this dish and enjoy the juice as a refreshing beverage while you prepare this. Finely chop the celery, bell pepper, onion, and tomato. Add the pulp of the carrots to the chopped vegetables. Knead the eggless mayonnaise into the carrot pulp mixture. Next knead in the tamari. Finally, knead in the sea salt and kelp seasoning.

Recipe makes four servings, or 3 to 4 cups salad.

Anonymous said...

papaya does funny things to my tummy. but i eat it anyway. :)

Anonymous said...

I bet your friends are still talking about the night they ate raw. The papaya steak sound wonderful. I love papaya and have a post lined up about it. There aren't too many fresh fruits I don't love.

Hope you had a great time (and turned your cell phone off) at the yoga retreat.

Anonymous said...

How lucky you are to have a good raw foods restaurant nearby. The papaya presentation sounds lovely, but $5 for a rosemary infusion? Come on.