COOK TO FOLLOW

★★★★☆ 3 REVIEWS A savory and slightly fruity marinade gives ribs the tenderizing benefits of papaya’s natural enzyme, papain.

11/2 cups peeled and roughly chopped ripe papaya (7 oz.) 3/4 cup water 3/4 cup white wine 3/4 cup honey 6 Tbsp. tomato paste 1 large clove garlic, minced 3/4 tsp. crushed red pepper 2 racks St. Louis-style cut pork spareribs (about 4 lb.) 1 tsp. salt

1. Finely chop papaya, water, wine, honey, tomato paste, garlic, and red pepper in a food processor; transfer to a 9x13-inch glass baking dish. Sprinkle ribs with salt; add to dish and chill, covered, 6 to 12 hours. 2. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a 10x15-inch baking pan with foil. Transfer ribs to pan, meaty sides up, shaking off and reserving excess marinade. Bring marinade to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Reserve 1 cup sauce for serving; use the rest for basting. 3. Roast ribs 1 hour; baste with sauce every 15 minutes and cover ribs with foil if needed to prevent burning. Continue roasting until meat is tender and easily pulls away from the bone, 45 minutes to 1 hour more. Serve with reserved sauce. armagazine.com/baby-back-ribs-with-papaya-marinade

HIDDEN GEM GLUTEN-FREE

PER SERVING (6 RIBS AND 2 TBSP. SAUCE): 1,089 CAL; 70G FAT (21G SAT); 49G PRO; 64G CARB (2G FIBER, 59G SUGARS); 992MG SODIUM

S O M T A M M A L A K O R ( G R E E N P A P A Y A S A L A D )

HANDS-ON 20 MIN TOTAL 35 MIN SERVES 6 SUBMITTED BY MS. TEA NEW RECIPE GO ONLINE TO RATE & REVIEW Green papaya, sold at Asian markets, is the crunchy canvas for the salty, tangy, sweet, and spicy flavors of this Thai slaw. The salad is popular in many Asian cultures, including Vietnamese, Lao, and Cambodian, and is served at some Lunar New Year celebrations.

1/2 cup raw peanuts 1 or 2 Thai chile peppers, chopped 3 cloves garlic 1 Tbsp. dried shrimp 1 Tbsp. palm sugar or packed brown sugar 2 limes, juiced (about 4 Tbsp.) 2 Tbsp. fish sauce 1/4 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. black pepper 6 cups julienne-cut green papaya (13 oz.) 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 1/2 cup 1-inch pieces fresh green beans or

Chinese long beans 1/3 cup shredded carrot

1 . Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread peanuts in an even layer on a baking sheet. Bake until fragrant and browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Chop 1/4 cup of the peanuts. 2 . Process remaining 1/4 cup peanuts, chile(s), garlic, dried shrimp, and sugar in a small food processor until finely chopped. Add lime juice, fish sauce, salt, and black pepper; pulse until just combined. 3 . Put papaya, tomatoes, green beans, and carrot in a large bowl. Add dressing; toss to coat. Garnish with reserved peanuts. Serve immediately. (Leftovers can be chilled, covered, up to 1 day.) armagazine.com/som-tam-malakor QUICK GLUTEN-FREE PER 1-CUP SERVING: 121 CAL; 6G FAT (1G SAT); 5G PRO; 14G CARB (3G FIBER, 9G SUGARS); 590MG SODIUM did you know? Papayas are rich in vitamins A and C and a natural source of zeaxanthin and lutein, antioxidants that research suggests may protect eyes from harmful blue light and age-related macular degeneration. Papaya’s natural enzyme, papain, also may have inflammation-reducing, digestion-aiding, and antibacterial properties.

go green Picked unripe, green papaya’s firm white flesh is popular in salads, soups, and pickles. Some cooks soak it in salted water for better flavor absorption or to remove traces of naturally occurring latex in raw green papaya. Note: If you’re pregnant or allergic to latex, check with your doctor before eating raw green papaya.

Melanie Giovenzana (aka Buckwheat Queen ) is one of the 50 million cooks who visit Allrecipes.com every month. Get to know this international Allrecipes Allstar, who lives in Italy and has loved her immersion into Italian culture and cuisine.

W H Y I LOV E CO O K I N G When I moved to Italy, I really began to enjoy cooking. Here, it’s a way to heal and care for people. I love that!

About me: I’m a proud Texan who has lived in Italy since 1997. I’m a mom to three beautiful girls, stepmother to four wonderful kids, and wife of Giuseppe Giovenzana, a former fighter pilot in the Italian Air Force and recently retired airline captain. I’ve been lucky enough to live throughout Italy—Milan, Rome, Cervinia in the Italian Alps, and most recently we have retired to Sardinia. I love experiencing new cultures and the foods that define them. My day job: Casalinga (that’s Italian for housewife), wife and mom, and finder of all things lost. Side gigs: Part-time aviation-English instructor/examiner and aeronautical technical writer. I quit working full time in 2015 to take care of my family. Some insights about Italian food: • The simplicity of Italian food and the genuineness of the ingredients are the most underestimated. • How Italian food is eaten: Italian food takes time to prepare. It is eaten at the table with family and/or friends. Think “slow food.” • Outside of Italy, I see pizza and pastas. But pasta is just the beginning! Italian meals are served in two to four courses, depending on how much you eat. They start with a primo, or first course (a pasta, gnocchi, or risotto); secondo (some sort of protein); and contorno, or side dish (a vegetable or salad). The foods in Italy aren’t overly seasoned either. • La pastasciutta (pasta with tomato sauce) is pasta with a simple mix of fresh or canned tomatoes, garlic, basil, and a pinch of salt. • Pizza should only have puréed tomatoes without any seasoning at all. With meats and fish, there is no condiment other than raw oil, lemon, and parsley. Italian steak is served by itself; there is no sauce. • Also, Italians weigh ingredients and don’t go by volume. And they love their bread. Each city has its specialty, but it’s eaten at a certain time and with certain foods. They never eat pasta with bread in their hands or near their plate. Kitchen tool I can’t live without: I would be grumpy—very grumpy— without my handheld immersion blender. I use it to make smoothies, soups, sauces, hummus, and pretty much anything that needs puréeing. Rare talent no one will pay me for: I seem to be really good at cleaning up after people, which in my house is a talent only I possess. If I had a superpower, it would be: To heal people. My closest thing to an actual superpower: I can find anything in the house that is deemed lost by anyone else. A fact few people know about me: I flew the Lunar Excursion Module simulation at the NASA Ames Research Center at California’s Moffett Field in 2007. It’s a simulation of the spacecraft that astronauts used to land on the moon. (I flew, but didn’t land so well.) Touching and flying equipment like the astronauts used was profound and left a lasting impression on me. My kitchen: It’s not big enough for my imagination. Who I cook for: Husband Giuseppe; my daughters, Meagan (age 22), Ashley (20), and Eloise (19); and me. Best cook I know: My sister Toni. She bakes, which is something I find difficult. She makes it look so easy. I admire her for her family get-togethers like Thanksgiving and Christmas, and her perfect roast turkey. She has been my inspiration in the kitchen and in life. She’s the one you run to in a crisis. Food obsession: Tacos. I would do some seriously shady stuff for a real taco. I’ll sometimes cook a traditional Italian meal for my family and then make myself tacos. Food discovery that changed my life: I found out in 2010 that I have celiac disease. This changed everything for me. I started making everything from scratch because it was almost impossible to eat in restaurants or find foods in the store that weren’t contaminated with gluten in some way. On our trips, I prepare our meals so we don’t have to eat in restaurants. Nowadays, in Italy, there are many restaurants that cook for people with allergies and food intolerance, but outside Italy, few restaurants will accept cooking for people with serious allergies or dietary restrictions. In my fridge right now: One-third of it is fresh veggies. In the cheese drawer, you’ll find Grana Padano, Fontina, Pecorino, and ricotta salata. Three arancini are waiting to be air-fried (part of a recipe I’m developing). Also, homemade everything: jam, tomato sauce, mustard, soup, soy milk, and yogurt.

B E ST A DV I C E I E V E R G OT “Keep it simple. No need to go crazy with spices, condiments, salt, and butter.”

The girls and I love summers in Italy. This is us (Meagan, me, Ashley, and Eloise) on a hike in Cervinia.

I love cooking from scratch. At left, that’s me making gluten-free ravioli (with real pumpkin).

The twisting roads around Lake Como are perfect for motorcycles. At left, this is Giuseppe and me at a café. He has a seaplane license, and we’d flown around (and landed on!) the lake.