Nikki Duffy
LATIN NAME
Mangifera indica
SEASONALITY
Different varieties imported all year round; Indian Alphonso mangoes April–June
A ripe ‘Alphonso’ mango is as tempting as food gets. Small and yellow-skinned, like plump, golden hearts, these Indian fruits contain a flesh so buttery, honeyed and juicy that it’s hard to believe it’s good for you. But it is. Like all mangoes, Alphonsos are rich in antioxidants, vitamins including A and C, and potassium.
Sadly Alphonsos (pictured next) are not the mango norm in the UK. During their short season, April to June, you will find them in Asian grocers, but for the most part we sink our teeth into the much larger ‘Keitt’ and ‘Kent’ varieties. Nothing wrong with that. These are luscious too when ripe – if a little less ambrosial.
To ascertain ripeness in your mango, ignore the skin colour. They can be red-blushed but still hard, or green all over and still almost rotting inside. Instead, press the fruit gently at the stem end, where it should give a little, without feeling mushy.
Completely under-ripe, green-fleshed mango is excellent julienned or grated in a salad with a punchy, Thai-influenced dressing. Although you can get these from specialist suppliers, mangoes are not widely sold this way in the UK. Instead, one can end up with a disappointingly halfway-house mango, which is neither green nor drippingly ripe. Don’t despair, such firm mango flesh is still a fantastic salad ingredient – try it where you might otherwise use pear or plum.
To liberate the flesh from a mango, you can go the ‘hedgehog’ route, first slicing off the ‘cheek’ on either side of the big central stone. Score the flesh side of the cheeks into squares before pushing the cheek inside out, as it were, causing the cut mango to bristle up in easy-to-slice-off chunks. Cut off the remaining flesh from the stone with a small, sharp knife.
Alternatively, you can simply peel the whole fruit with a veg peeler or paring knife and slice off the flesh in chunks, slivers and wedges. Either way, you’re left with a flesh-clothed stone. Hold this over a jug and squeeze it to extract every last bit of juice, but not too hard or the slippery stone will shoot upwards.
Dried mango is marvellous: like a very tender kind of fruity-tangy, sweet leather. Strips of it make great, chewy snacks and are fantastic snipped into little pieces and tossed through couscous, bulgar or rice salads with spices, pomegranate seeds and lots of mint or coriander. Dried mango also makes an amazing chutney.
This super-quick, healthy salad is a brilliant breakfast. You could make it with papaya in place of the mango if you like. Try serving with thick yoghurt and a few toasted seeds. Serves 2
1 large mango, ripe but not too soft
1 large, medium-ripe banana
2 tsp clear honey
Juice of ½ large lime
50g fresh coconut flesh (see Tackling a fresh coconut)
Remove the flesh from the mango in your favoured way (see Mango), cutting as close to the stone as possible to get the maximum amount of flesh. Remove any skin from the liberated flesh, then cut the flesh into slivers or chunks and place in a large bowl.
Peel the banana and cut into slices, on a slight angle, about 5mm thick. Add to the mango. Trickle over the honey and squeeze over the lime then turn the fruit over very gently. Leave to macerate for a few minutes.
Turn the fruit again, then divide between individual bowls or plates. Using a medium grater or potato peeler, grate or sliver the coconut over the fruit. Serve straight away.
