Mango-Papaya Oatmeal with Dragon Fruit

I thought I had cured Papaya Anxiety™️ with my Piña Papaya Oatmeal, but it turns out I was just getting started. Best. Papaya. Recipe. Yet. This combination of three tropical fruits is stellar. Mango is a winner, always. Papaya plays off the mango beautifully. Dragon fruit adds an unobtrusive sweetness that merely enhances the mango.

What you’ll need:

• 3/4 cup milk of choice (coconut suggested), or water*
• 1/4 cup quick cook steel cut oats*
• 1/2 cup diced mango
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup diced papaya, or more mango
• splash of lime, lemon, or orange juice (optional)
• pinch of salt
• sliced or diced dragon fruit, for topping

How to make it:

1. Bring milk to a low boil, add oats, mango, and papaya, and reduce heat to a simmer. (If you’d like to add a teaspoon of flax or chia seeds, do so now.) Stir occasionally.
2. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add citrus juice and salt to the oatmeal. Stir.
3. When you’re pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Top with dragon fruit and any other additional toppings (shredded coconut, more mango and/or papaya, other fruit, nuts, etc.).

Just an FYI:

Most ingredients are fairly easy to track down in New York City, but dragon fruit can put up a bit of a fight. Even worse, when you do find it, it’s sometimes $6 for a single fruit! The trick is checking out the Asian markets in Chinatown or certain parts of Queens. (These markets are also a great place to track down lychees, star fruit, papaya, guava, or canned jackfruit.) I found this beauty for $2.99 way out in Richmond Hill (Queens), on the last stop of the A train. #dedication

I’m pretty set on using dragon fruit solely for topping. You could easily mash it up and add it to oats (like I’ve done with kiwifruit), but it’s such a unique and ~fancy~ fruit that I insist on highlighting it in all its glory as a topping. However, it has a very neutral flavor, so it might make a great flavorless sweetener in some porridges if you’re adverse to dominant flavors like banana or apple.

P.S. Kind of weird, but you can put cubed dragon fruit in salads! It has a texture that’s like a cross between avocado and pear. I used it with spinach, blueberries, dried cranberries, almonds, and a tahini-lemon dressing. It seriously works!