Mango Season!

You’d have to be living pretty far off the grid in SoFla not to notice that it’s Mango season. Everywhere I turn I see the wonderfully oblong fruits hanging from trees.  And best of all, since we’re one of few people in the neighborhood without a mango tree, everyone is giving their overflow to us!! (We even found a bag of mangos hanging on our door from a stranger…who ever said Miami-ans aren’t nice?!?).

Mangos are of course delicious on their own (my babysitter, who is from Colombia, introduced me to Mango with salt…life changing), but there are so many other fun things you can do with this tropical fruit! Some of my favorite recipes below.

An absolute must is a mango salsa.  You can eat this alone, with chips, on fish, basically any which way.  From the great site, “Oh my Veggies” is this mango-cucumber salsa (you can also add tomato, which I like).  I leave out the cilantro because I hate it…try mint if you’re the same.  Also a dash of olive oil is relish.

1 ripe mango, diced (about 1 cup)

  • 1/2 small English cucumber, diced (about 1 cup)
  • 1/3 cup diced red onions
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
  • Juice from 1 lime
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  1. Stir together all of the ingredients in a medium bowl. Serve with tortilla chips, tacos or burritos, or as a mix-in for cooked quinoa or millet.

This one from Gourmet is something I NEVER would have thought of – Mango Flambe! I tried it last night and it was SO easy and SO good.  If you’re having a dinner party this could really impress.

ingredients

  • 4 (1-pound) firm-ripe mangoes
  • 6 tablespoons turbinado sugar such as Sugar in the Raw
  • 1/3 cup dark rum

preparation

Preheat broiler.

Wash and dry mangoes. Remove 2 flat sides of each mango with a sharp knife, cutting lengthwise alongside pit and cutting as close to pit as possible so that mango flesh is in 2 large pieces (reserve remaining fruit for another use). Make a crosshatch pattern with a small sharp knife, cutting across fruit down to skin at 1/2-inch intervals and being careful not to pierce through. Grasp fruit at both ends and turn inside out to make flesh side convex.

Arrange fruit, skin side down, in a large shallow baking pan lined with foil and sprinkle evenly with 4 tablespoons turbinado sugar (total). Broil 5 inches from heat until fruit is golden brown (it will not brown evenly), about 5 minutes. Arrange fruit on a large platter.

Cook rum with remaining sugar in a small saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, then carefully ignite rum with a kitchen match and pour, still flaming, over warm mangoes. Serve immediately.

Next, From Damaris Philips of the Food Network- a mango, edimame, bok choy salad.  SIMPLE, Healthy, Delish.

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 cup shelled frozen edamame, thawed
1 cup bok choy, chiffonade, some greens reserved for garnish
1 green mango, peeled and julienned
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
Directions
In a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, honey, pepper flakes and lime juice until smooth. Slowly whisk in the sesame oil.

Add the edamame, bok choy and mango, and toss to coat with the dressing. Add the sesame seeds and toss again to combine. Serve garnished with the reserved bok choy greens.

And of course, it can’t be all about the food – go for a mango smoothie or if you’re feeling frisky, try this mango-rasberry Bellini from Camille Styles on Yummly, UM YES PLEASE (just add ice if you’re using your fresh mango). I even love her little glasses!

newPostLabel_Ingredients
1 cup frozen raspberries
1 cup frozen mango
1 tablespoon coconut sugar or other sweetener
1 large bottle of champagne
water
newPostLabel_Instructions
  1. Combine raspberries, mango, coconut sugar, 1/2 cup of water, and 1/2 cup of champagne in a blender and blend until smooth (add additional water if needed)
  2. Scoop 2 tablespoons of mango raspberry mixture into a champagne glass and mix with champagne (you can add more or less to your taste preference!)
  3. Serve immediately, with raspberries (frozen or fresh) to garnish.

Since there is such a surplus of mangos at one time and they are only ripe for about a month, one important piece of knowledge is how to FREEZE mangos so you can eat and use them later! You can’t just throw them in the fridge, FYI.  The ladies at Fabulessly Frugal explain it here.  A friend of mine also said she cuts them, smushes them up into a block and freezes. Later, they go into the freezer and chop off pieces from the block when they want like mini popsicles. YUM!