Som Tam Salad (Well, sort of)

Green Papaya Salad (Som Tam) is the most popular salad in Thailand. As in all things Thai, fish sauce is a must. But I excluded it because a)I don't do fish, and b) I don't have any fish sauce available! Instead, I made a dressing of honey and orange juice. For a more authentic Som Tam recipe, refer here.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 of a large raw papaya
• 1 carrot
• 1 cucumber
• Handful of spinach leaves
• The juice of one orange
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Drizzle of honey
• Handful of crushed peanuts
• Flesh of a coconut, fresh, not dried or dessicated
• Black pepper, freshly ground

To make:

• Shred or grate the peeled papaya, carrot, coconut and cucumber into long thin slivers. See here on how to shred a papaya.
• Chop up or tear a few spinach leaves.
• Mix the orange juice, olive oil, honey and black pepper to make a dressing.
• Mix all the salad ingredients.
• Add the dressing right before you are going to eat the salad.
• Garnish with the crushed peanuts.