Caribbean Guacamole
Submitted by father
Caribbean guacamole: a tropical twist on classic guac with diced avocado, sweet papaya, lime, red chiles, and toasted coconut, served with crisp bread points. Island sunshine on a cracker.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
25 minREADY
1 hrsCaribbean Guacamole with Papaya
Caribbean guacamole rewrites the classic Mexican recipe with tropical flair. Diced avocado meets sweet ripe papaya, tart lime juice, a pinch of sugar, and red chili flakes for gentle heat. Toasted flaked coconut sprinkled over the top brings nutty sweetness, and thin crisp bread points stand in for tortilla chips. It’s less of a dip and more of a composed appetizer plate, equal parts fruit salad and guacamole.
The side-by-side plating is the signature. Diced avocado mixture on one half of the platter, diced papaya on the other, with fanned avocado and papaya slices bridging the two. Guests scoop a little of each onto a bread point for a perfect bite combining creamy avocado, juicy papaya, and crunchy toast.
Toasting the coconut is the move most home cooks skip. Three minutes in a dry pan over medium-high heat transforms flat raw coconut into something deeply nutty and caramelized. Watch it constantly; coconut goes from pale to burnt in about 20 seconds.
Picking a properly ripe papaya makes or breaks this dish. It should yield slightly to pressure and have a slight fruity sweetness at the stem. Green-yellow is underripe and tastes flat; deeply orange with brown spots is too soft.
Chef Tips
- Sprinkle the avocado slices with lime juice immediately after cutting to prevent browning.
- Use a ripe-but-firm avocado; overripe avocado turns to paste when diced.
- Toast a little extra coconut; it’s addictive and you’ll want to snack on some while plating.
- Make the bread points up to a day ahead and store airtight at room temperature so they stay crisp.
Variations
- Substitute mango for papaya if papaya is unavailable or out of season.
- Add ¼ cup finely chopped red onion and a tablespoon of chopped cilantro for a more traditional salsa-guacamole hybrid.
- Serve on mini corn tostadas instead of bread points for a gluten-free version.
Ingredients
Directions
Cut bread into ¼ inch thick slices, then cut diagonally into triangles.
Arrange in a single layer in a 10×15 inch pan.
Bake in a 300℉ (150℃). oven until lightly browned, about 10 minutes; turn slices over halfway through baking.
Cool on racks.
If made ahead, wrap airtight and store at room temperature up to a day.
In a 7 to 8 inch frying pan, stir coconut over medium-high heat until golden brown, about 3 minutes.
Pour from pan; set aside.
Cut papaya in half lengthwise.
Discard seeds and peel, leaving halves intact.
From 1 half, cut 2 lengthwise slices, each about ¼ inch thick.
Dice remaining papaya; set fruit aside.
Cut avacado in half lengthwise.
Discard pit and peel, leaving halves intact.
From 1 half, cut 2 lengthwise slices, each about ¼ inch thick.
Sprinkle slices with 1 teaspoon lime juice; set aside.
Dice remaining avacado and mix with remaining lime juice, sugar, and red chilies.
On a platter, arrange avacado mixture and diced papaya side by side in separate mounds.
Fan reserved avacado slices next to diced papaya, and reserved papaya slices next to avacado mixture.
Sprinkle with coconut.
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