Recipe: Papaya Salsa with Variations (using cilantro)

PAPAYA SALSA

"This is one of my favorites - healthful, quick, colorful, and full of intense flavors that cover the waterfront from sweet to sour to hot to smooth. Partially this is due to the character of the papaya, whose musky flavor mixes and mingles so well with other tropical ingredients. In any case, this is the kind of mixture that got me hooked on salsas to begin with. I think this is great with almost anything, but for starters, try it with seafood."

1 ripe papaya, peeled, seeded, roughly chopped*
1 small red bell pepper, sliced (short thin slices)
1 small red onion, sliced (long thin slices)
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 medium garlic clove. minced
1/4 cup pineapple juice
6 tablespoons lime juice (about 3 limes)
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
salt and freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together well. This salsa will keep, covered and refrigerated, 3 to 4 days.

*VARIATIONS:
This salsa recipe from central casting - you can substitute any fruit you have around, from peaches to mangoes to pineapples.

Makes about 3 cups
From: Nancy
Source: Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby