In Good FlavorWant a summer salad loaded with flavor? This Papaya Prosciutto and Blueberry Salad with Maple Syrup Vinaigrette is a delightful combination of salty, sweet, and freshness. Great as a main dish or a side!
Hi friends! I hope your summer is going well. Can you believe that it’s already mid-July? I hope you are getting all your summer must-dos in because Labor Day will be here before we know it. Yikes!
We have had some hot and very humid days. By humid, I mean feeling like you got dropped into a hot bowl of soup as soon as you step outdoors. Thank goodness for air conditioning is all I’m gonna say!
In this heat and humidity, I gravitate towards lighter and cooler meals. On many nights, salad IS my dinner. Even though I tend to have the same salad again and again, I like to switch it up every now and then. This papaya prosciutto and blueberry salad is my latest creation, and it is a definite keeper!
What is a papaya?
If you have not had papaya before, you need to give it a try at least once! It is a somewhat pear-shaped tropical fruit with a center cavity filled with tiny black seeds. This fruit has a beautifully vibrant orange-tangerine flesh when ripe. The texture is similar to that of a mango, but unlike mango, which can be fibrous, papaya is smooth and buttery. It is sweet and has been described as having a musky (in a totally good way!) essence. To me, it tastes like a cross between a mango and a cantaloupe. It is just plain dang yummy!
In terms of size, papaya ranges from 6 to 20 inches long! My grocery store tends to carry underripe ones. A perfectly ripened papaya should be mostly yellowish-orange skin. Dark spots on the skin are perfectly fine. The fruit should feel slightly soft, and the skin may be a touch wrinkly.
To ripen, place it in a ventilated area away from direct sunlight and rotate daily (my method). Alternatively, placing the papaya with a banana in a brown paper bag can help speed up the ripening process (I have not tried this method). From personal experience, a green papaya with some pale yellow takes 5-7 days to ripen on the counter.
After all this talk about papaya, you would think that I would have some good images of the unpeeled and unsliced fruit for you. But not so ?! I completely neglected to take photos (D’oh!!). Even though I had not planned to use the picture below, it is the only one with a partial image of a cut papaya. But if you would like to see more, here is a link to some images I found on the web.
What’s to like about this salad:
Sweet papaya and blueberries strike a nice balance with the salty prosciutto and feta cheese. Mixed greens and maple syrup vinaigrette inject texture, additional freshness, and sweetness into this flavorful summer dish. I am craving it as I look at these photos! In fact, I am going to pick up another papaya today to make another salad. Since it requires a few days to ripen, I will have to wait—but the wait is so worth it!
The maple syrup vinaigrette is the perfect finish for this salad. My secret ingredient, grated opinion, provides a nice zip to the sweet and mild dressing. This vinaigrette would go well with many kinds of salads and make a great simple marinade. I’m going to keep this one in my go-to recipe box!
That’s it for today, friends. Hope you have a great weekend!!
Recommended supplies:
(Affiliate links. The products I recommend are either what I use, are on my wish list, or come highly rated.)
- Mini wire whisk for mixing the vinaigrette.
- Fork and spoon salad server— these are made of beautiful acacia wood.
- A citrus reamer to juice the lemon.
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Papaya Prosciutto and Blueberry Salad with Maple Syrup Vinaigrette
Description
Want a summer salad loaded with flavor? This Papaya Prosciutto and Blueberry Salad with Maple Syrup Vinaigrette is a delightful combination of salty, sweet, and freshness. Great as a main dish or a side!
Ingredients
Maple Syrup Vinaigrette:
Instructions
- Peel the papaya. Slice it in half. Scoop and discard the seeds in the center. Slice the papaya into 1/2-inch slices. Set aside.
- To assemble the salad, place spring salad mix, prosciutto, feta cheese, blueberries, and onion slices in a large bowl or platter.
- Add lemon juice, oil, maple syrup, grated onion, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Drizzle over salad.
- Makes 4 side or 2 main dish servings.
Note
- Source: The World’s Healthiest Foods
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OMG I love papaya! It's easily one of my favorite fruits. But I always just eat it plain. . .I have to make this salad and up my papaya game :). I love that you added feta too! Because salty sweet is everything! Have a great weekend, Thao!
We see eye-to-eye on papaya—a perfectly ripened papaya needs nothing else, so I can see why you would always eat it plain. I do the same, but changing it up was fun. I really love it in the salad. Enjoy your weekend, Kelsie!
Such a gorgeous salad! And I love all the different textures and flavors—sweet, salty, creamy, crisp. SO lovely.
Thanks, Liz! I wanted this salad to hit all of the senses. 🙂
This is a beautiful salad full of great color and summer flavors. Love the maple dressing. Great pics! Take care.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Stacey! I'm so glad you stopped by!
This salad is full of so many amazing flavors,it looks divine!
Thank you, Pamela!
This is such a pretty salad! I love the papaya and the blueberry combo!
Thanks Kelly! That's sweet of you to say.
I'm craving this salad just by looking at it! I love papaya and the maple syrup vinaigrette sounds delicious!
OK, this looks INCREDIBLE. I love papaya and I especially love how you've contrasted it with the rich-salty prosciutto and then simultaneously complemented it with the blueberry and maple! YUM.
Thank you Marie! Papaya is such an under utilized fruit. We need to bring it to the forefront. 🙂
Thank you so much! I wanted to highlight the sweet and salty in this salad.
Oh my gosh, I am SO glad I found your gorgeous blog – what beautiful pictures and even more beautiful recipes! And now I am going to try papaya!
Thank you so much, Kate! You made my day!! I am glad to hear you are going to try papaya. Keeping my fingers crossed that you will like it!
It's crazy that summer is almost over! This salad looks delicious! I love papaya but I've never thought about putting it on a salad before. Have to try this soon, especially that maple vinaigrette 🙂
It sure feels like summer is over today! I can't believe that we are experiencing daytime temps in the 50's in late July!! This papaya salad will certainly put you in a summer state of mind no matter how cold it is outside! 🙂
What a creative salad, I love all of the colors! I've been eating a lot of salad lately with the vegetables from our garden and I'm definitely going to have to try this one next. Beautiful photo too!!!!