As Homer, Bart and Marge aptly put it: you don’t win friends with salad. But then again, they’ve probably never tried one made of mangos. Whether you want to call it a slaw or a salad, what the Project has for you this week is a satisfying medley of flavours, colours and textures. The combination of carrots and red peppers add a touch of sweetness and give the salad warm hues reminiscent of fall leaves. The red onions add a nice splash of purple and allow each forkful to end on a peppery note. Then there’s the addition of cilantro adds a touch of green and a finishes the salad with a subtle citrus note.
But of course, the main attraction here is the use of mangos. When choosing mangos, you’ve got two routes: yellow and green. Green mangos are just like any other mango, only unripened and have a firm, crunchy texture. Yellow mangos have had a longer time to ripen so their flesh is softer, juicier and sweeter. To find out what kind of mango you’ve got on hand, just give it a squeeze. Unripened mangos should be firm to the touch while the flesh of the ripened variety will give way after a little pressure. Just be sure you don’t use any mangos that have fully ripened –those are best for stir-frying and will leave you with a watery mess of a salad.
On side note, while all you need is a solid chef’s knife to make this salad, breaking out a mandolin will cut down on prep time ten fold. There’s also a savory dressing to accompany the salad but you can omit it if you’ve got any vegetarians at the dinner table (the dressing calls for fish sauce).
Photography courtesy of the lovely Anna Tannas
Mango Salad
A BLT Project Original Recipe
What’s In It:
-1 mango, pit removed and julienned
-1 large red bell pepper, julienned
-1/2 a red onion, cut into lengthwise slices
-1/3 a cup of roughly chopped cilantro
-1/2 cup of carrots, julienned
-1/4 of a cup of roasted cashews (optional)
Dressing:
-3 tbsp of Vietnamese fish sauce
-1 tbsp of granulated sugar
-The juice from 1/2 a squeezed lime (a lemon can be substituted)
-1 clove of chopped garlic
-1 bird’s eye chili, thinly minced
Serves 4 people
1. Remove the pit of a mango by leaving an inch gap from the centre of the fruit.
2. Peel the mango and julienne.
3. Combine with the remaining ingredients and add lemon juice.
4. In a small bowl, combine fish sauce, garlic, chili and sugar. Stir to combine and serve with salad.
5. Give the salad a final toss and savour along with some roasted cashews.
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