Gratinated Stuffed Papaya with Spicy Beef Filling

This recipe is from the Nisbet Plantation in Nevis. The recipe was obtained from the Nevis Great House Cookbook found during one of our stays on nearby Montserrat.

Nisbet Plantation has a long and very colourful history.  Fist built in 1778 as a sugar plantation, by Dr. Nisbet and his wife “Fanny” who later, in 1887 after the death of her husband, married Horatio Nelson, a dashingly handsome 28 year-old Captain in England’s Royal Navy Caribbean Fleet.  He eventually rose in rank to become Admiral Lord Nelson, victor of the Battle of Trafalgar, which finally turned the tide of the long running English-French war.

The Plantation eventually became an Inn in the 1950’s when the famous Mary Pomeroy purchased the property and converted several of the rooms in the Nisbet Great House to guest rooms.  Today the Great House still retains its relaxed West Indian Plantation style.  Individual guest cottages are scattered amid the avenues of tall coconut palms that now lead one down through the manicured lawns to the white sand beach.

As of 2025, the Nisbet Plantation has been bought by Five Star Alliance with plans to reopen soon.

Nevis Great House Cookbook

Prep: 10 min.

Cook: 42 min.

Total: 52 min.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

  • 2 small papayas
  • lime for garnish

Filling

  • 6 scallions, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped and crushed
  • 10 oz minced beef
  • 1 fresh chili, chopped
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 Tbsp. golden raisins
  • 1/2 cup roasted cashews, chopped
  • 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
  • salt and ground black pepper
  • oil for frying

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Heat oil in a skillet and sauté scallions until soft and golden (5 minutes over medium heat)
  3. Add garlic and cook a further 2 minutes, then beef, cooking until brown.
  4. Add chili, tomatoes, raisins and cashews, stirring for about 5 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
  5. Remove from heat and stir in half of  the cheese.
  6. Cut two papayas in half (length-wise) and scrape out the seeds, then fill each half with beef mixture.
  7. Fill a shallow roasting pan with enough boiling water to reach 1/4 of the way up the papaya halves.
  8. Sprinkle stuff papayas with remaining cheese and bake for 30 minutes
  9. Serve individually and garnish with lime quarters

Variations

Serve with tomato and basil sauce, poured over the papayas after baking.

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Filed InBeef, Main Course, Nevis Great House Cookbook, Recipes
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