This past weekend, Albany, Ohio, hosted the annual Pawpaw Festival in honor of Ohio’s state fruit. If you didn’t get your fill of all the delicious pawpaw treats the festival had to offer, tomorrow happens to be National Pawpaw Day. Here are 6 recipes to satisfy your pawpaw addiction until next year:
Salsa
If you enjoy mango salsa, there’s no doubt you’ll enjoy a salsa made with the pawpaw fruit. This recipe from Light Orange Bean has all the classic ingredients found in normal salsa, but adds in the creamy and tropical flavors of the pawpaw.
Rice Paper Rolls
Put an Asian twist on the Midwest native fruit. This recipe from 84th&3rd combines pawpaw, mint, cabbage, red chili, cilantro, vermicelli noodles and your choice of meat, if you’d like. Once you wrap it up in rice paper, it makes for a nice eggroll-like appetizer.
Cheesecake
Because the pawpaw is a citrus fruit, it isn’t used much in a dinner setting, but that leaves us with an abundance of options for pawpaw desserts. Since pawpaws are perfect for dessert, Earthly Delights graced the world with a cheesecake recipe featuring pecan crust. The scrumptious dessert can be paired with a berry garnish for a creamy cheesecake with a nutty crust.
Ice Cream
Need something to cool you down after a hot day? Look no further than a pawpaw ice cream recipe. Whisk up eggs, cream, sugar, vanilla beans and pawpaw puree for the cool, citrus treat. If you don’t have an ice cream maker yet, this recipe is a good excuse to buy one.
Sorbet
Want a cool treat but need it to be dairy-free? Well, Tyrant Farms has got you covered. This recipe combines the flavors of the pawpaw with passionfruit and lemon for a delicious, dairy-free citrus dessert. If that’s not enough, the recipe gives you yet another excuse to buy an ice cream maker.
Bread
The pawpaw is often referred to as the “poor man’s banana,” so why not use it in recipes where bananas are traditionally used? Heat up your oven, grease up your pan and throw together a bread recipe from Alexandra’s Kitchen. Everybody loves a twist on an old classic, after all.
Mixed Drink
National Pawpaw Day falls on a Thursday this year, so what better way to celebrate than with this rum runner recipe from Mother Nature Network. Grab your ID and pick up a bottle of rum, a couple pawpaws and lime, and raise your glass to Ohio’s state fruit.
