Salmon Salad with Papaya Dressing

Hawaii is known for its paramount beauty, shady palm trees, 

sun-kissed white sandy beaches — and 

luscious tropical fruits… 

Cindy Sanchez thinks back to the succulent papayas she sampled on those mid-Pacific islands every time she prepares this ambrosial salad. “I wish I could go back there to get the really great papayas — those were amazing,” she reminisced. “Sometimes it’s hard to find good papayas, mangos and avocados. But when they are in season, this is a great summer salad! It’s colorful and very pretty. And, I’ve never heard of any one not liking it.

“You can use either salmon or chicken for this recipe,” Cindy explained. “I’ve eaten it with grilled chicken but have really loved it with salmon so that’s all I use when I make it. The salmon is still warm from the grill — you can put the whole filet on the salad or break it in pieces.”

Mmmm… this salad won’t replace a trip to Hawaii but it’s likely to create some very special memories of its own. (I can’t wait to taste it!) CJK 

Salmon Salad with Papaya Dressing

(Cindy Sanchez)

Dressing

1 cup canola oil

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup sugar*

1 tbsp. lemon or lime juice

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1 tbsp. minced onion

2 tbsp. papaya seeds

Salad

1 head butter lettuce

1 bunch spinach

3/4-1 lb. salmon filet, grilled

1 mango, peeled and cubed                       

1 papaya, peeled and cubed (save seeds for dressing)

1 avocado (peeled and cubed immediately before serving)

Blend all the dressing ingredients (in a blender) until the papaya seeds are the size of coarsely ground pepper.

Place the greens on a platter and top with salmon, mango and papaya. When ready to serve, add the avocado and drizzle the dressing over the salad.

Yield: 6 servings

A note from Cindy: *I like to use some of the smaller bits of the papaya to sweeten the dressing so I tend to use a little less sugar than is called for. The dressing can be used for other salads as well.

I usually use butter lettuce with the spinach — it’s leafy and tender — but other lettuce varieties would work as well.

A note from Carol: Cindy (Stepan) Sanchez is originally from Brooten. She shared this enticing recipe in Brooten’s St. Donatus Parish’s centennial cookbook titled “Fruit of the Spirit.” (Contact the parish office at stdonatus@tds.net or 320-346-2431 to order copies of the cookbook — $10 each plus $5 for shipping.)

Cindy and her husband, Rafael, have been members of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Aurora, Colorado, for 35 years. They have two adult daughters and one granddaughter, Sofia, who is three years old. Cindy’s parents, Ruth and the late Oswald (Ozzie) Stepan, have been parishioners of St. Donatus since 1953.