Mamay, as far as I'm concerned, is another grandmother. She is my aunt-in-law's mom and we got to visit her once when she was in Florida staying with one of her sons. They had a big backyard filled with mango trees, kalamansi trees, papaya trees, malunggay, camote tops, kangkong, gabi, lemon grass and all things Filipino. The backyard was Filipino heaven, that's all I have to say. It had everything that we miss from the Philippines. They had so many papayas, they didn't know what to do with it so Mamay, rather than having it all go to waste, would make atsara from it. Now atsara is a beautiful papaya pickle that goes extremely well as a garnish with fried fish & barbequed chicken--usually anything fried or grilled. Mamay made Jeremy's day when she gave us a large jar of it to take back home. We found out it went extremely well with Grandma Smith's Gluten Choplets when we cleaned out the jar during our visit in her home. I have been on the hunt for her recipe ever since and just a few months ago, my mom gave me great joy when she was able to get it. So here it is, for your eating pleasure...1 kilo green papaya, grated (roughly 4 1/2 cups shredded)
1 T salt
1 carrot, grated
1 T ginger, cut in strips
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
Pickling solution:
sugar (I use brown)
vinegar
salt
water
(OK, I'm sorry I don't have the exact measurements for the pickling solution. Roughly
it's 1 cup sugar, 1 cup vinegar (apple cider is what my mom and I find to be best) and 1 tsp salt. Usually it's a strong solution so we like it best watered down a bit. I can't remember how much water I put so I'll have to consult my mom on this and get back to you.)Sprinkle salt over grated papaya. Let stand for 2-3 hours then squeeze thoroughly in cheesecloth. Set aside. Mix with carrot and ginger.
Boil sugar, vinegar, salt and water without stirring. Pour over vegetables. Transfer to sterilized bottle. Allow 2-3 days before consuming.
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