Summer’s fruit harvest is so bountiful, it’s hard to choose a favourite.
But juicy, sweet mangoes are our pick – maybe because they taste like vacation, or maybe because they work in any dish, from chicken to fish to frozen yoghurt.
If you’re new to the savoury mango scene, start with a fresh salsa – it will change the way you eat your braai meat forever!
Small cubes of fresh mango, tomato, cucumber, corn, red onion, coriander or parsley, fresh chilli, you name it.
Then a squeeze of lemon or lime and a splash of olive oil, salt and you’ve made mango magic.
Mangoes also love to be baked – with chicken, with fish, even with feta and lentils.
Their balance of sweetness and acidity, together with that can’t-be-substituted mango flavour, makes them a winner with grills, in stir-fries and salads like mango, tomato, chicken and red onion salad; as well as cherished family recipes like curry, and frozen mango and yoghurt dessert, and more adventurous takes from around the world – think mango and lime sticky chicken wings or soft pork belly slow roasted with mango, garlic and onion for tacos and sliders.
Mango, tomato, chicken and red onion salad
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the salad
6 leaves cos lettuce, chopped
1 cup baby spinach
1 ripe mango, diced
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cucumber, sliced
½ red onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup fresh coriander, finely chopped
4 chicken breasts, diagonally sliced and grilled
For the dressing
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
Pinch of sea salt or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Method
Arrange the salad ingredients into four serving dishes and top with the grilled chicken breast.
To make the dressing, whisk together all the ingredients and adjust the seasoning accordingly. Drizzle over the salad and serve.
Mango and lime sticky chicken wings
Serves: 4
Ingredients
12 chicken wings
2 tbsp cooking oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup mango chutney
1 red chilli, seed and sliced
1 fresh mango, cubed
1 punnet coriander leaves, chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Put the chicken into a large mixing bowl and drizzle with the oil and season well. Cook until the wings are golden brown.
Toss the wings with the chutney to coat well and continue to cook for a few more minutes.
Serve the wings on a serving platter topped with the chilli, fresh mango, coriander, and lime wedges.
Recipes by the South African Mango Growers’ Association.