Papaya & Lime

Papaya needs almost nothing. The fruit, picked at the moment when its skin yields gently to the thumb, carries the warmth of the tropics in its flesh — soft, sun-soaked, faintly floral. In Caribbean kitchens it appears at breakfast, scooped from the rind with a spoon, a wedge of lime alongside.

Here we let the lime do its quiet work — sharpening the papaya's sweetness, lifting its weight. A few mint leaves bring cool air. Crushed ice carries the whole thing forward. It is a smoothie that tastes of a slow morning by water, even if the morning is in Malta.