When I was young, we lived on the french side of St. Martin where I discovered the wonders of french bakeries. Born alongside a refined appreciation for pains au chocolat was my interest in the abundance of fruit growing wild on the island. I remember eating mango’s so savagely I would either hose myself down or jump in the ocean to rinse the sticky juices off. One of the cooler things were these little red berries that grew on cactus’s (cacti?), they were so sweet and hard to come by, I’d hunt for hours in the pastures for just a handful. Occasionally on these cactus fruit expeditions, I’d be lucky enough to find a sugar apple or two, wrap them up in the front of my t-shirt, and stash them away for later.

Besides hanging from a hammock in our ginnup tree eating the sweet little fruits within elbow’s reach, I would labor away at a delicacy that still remains one of my favorites today – a little something called Coconut Jellies. Basically it’s a coconut still young enough that the meat has not yet solidified. What you do is machete the coconut in half, and then with the tip of the knife, scrape the jellied meat from the sides and just slurp it right from coconut shell. It’s one of the most delicious and refreshing things on earth.

Yesterday, I brought home this beautiful papaya, another fruity treasure of my youth. It wasn’t quite ripe – still a bit green to be eaten alone. So, I got the idea to make a chilled soup since it’s been unbearably hot here lately. Turns out, this was exactly what the doctor ordered, cool and clean with just a light sweetness. I love plain greek style yogurt so I put a heaping spoonful on top with a sprinkle of maldon salt, and yum.

Fill pan about 1/4 full with water, add a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Cook carrots untill slightly soft and then add papaya, cooking for about another 5 minutes. Add the carrots and papaya into a food processor with about a cup of the cooking water.

Take a garlic press and squeeze the ginger into the mixture getting all the juice and little pieces out. Discard the fiberous bit that remains in the press. Blend on low intill relatively smooth adding more of the water if needed, salt, pepper, transfer to a bowl, and chill for about an hour before serving.

{tags coconut jellies sugar apples cactus fruit pains au chocolat}