November 23 - 29, 2014: Issue 190

Mangoes

Mangoes are beginning to appear in our stores – another sight, smell and taste of Summer. In Australia, the first tray of mangoes of the season is traditionally sold at an auction for charity and this year green grocer Moustapha Obeid spent $26,000 on the first tray of 20 early in September 2014 on behalf of a consortium of growers and wholesalers. 

Mangoes are now selling from $1.50 to $2.50 each and as they are packed with Vitamin C so you will be doing yourself a favour by treating 

There are many ways you can enjoy these fruits – we like chopping up ripe ones and mixing them with some sweet chilli sauce as a topping or accompaniment for seafood, or making Mango Sorbet to cleanse the palette and cool you down.

Slivers of mangoes tossed through green leaf salads with torn mint leaves are especially refreshing as we head into Summer’s heat and we have even made a mango version of Key Lime Pie when the crop is filling fruit markets and bringing down the prices.

You can freeze mango pulp when this occurs and keep some of these luscious fruits for mid-Winter, when you may need a taste of Summer!

A few of our favourite mango dishes:

Mango sorbet
3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
4 medium mangoes, flesh removed, peeled  
1 egg white

Stir the sugar and 1 1/2 cups (375ml) water in a small saucepan over a low heat until dissolved. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Cook, without stirring, for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Place mango flesh in a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a stainless steel bowl and add the cooled syrup. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze, stirring with a fork occasionally, for 2 hours.
Use an electric beater to beat the egg white until soft peaks form. Fold into the mango mixture. Freeze for 3 hours, until just frozen. Place in a food processor and process until smooth. Return to the pan and freeze for another 3 hours or until firm.

Mango Pie

1 x Nice Biscuits (or similar for crust)
125 grams of butter
450 grams mango pulp of mango pulp 
3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
1 250 gram block of cream cheese, softened
½ Cup sour cream
3 packets unflavored gelatin
2 Cups boiling water

Melt the butter. Crush the biscuits and mix with the butter. Press into a springform cake pan – bake if you wish to crisp this up at 180 degrees for about ten minutes – allow to cool completely. Melt the gelatin in boiling water until dissolved (can use microwave to boil the water, ours took about 3 minutes). Combine the cream cheese and sour cream in a bowl, and mix until combined. Add the gelatin-water mixture to the cream mixture and mix until combined.  Add in the mango pulp and mix until combined. Pour filling into the crust, and lay cling wrap over the top, touching the liquid. This is to prevent a skin. Place filled crust in refrigerator for at least four hours or overnight. Serve with whipped cream and more slices of mango or a few raspberries for colour contrast – seriously yum!

Quinoa salad with mint and mango
110g/4oz quinoa, cooked according to packet instructions
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
4 spring onions, including the green parts, chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 mango, peeled, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
½ lemon, juice only

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together until combined. Serve.

Copyright Pittwater Online News, 2014. All Rights Reserved.