Ever since my Mango Lassi breakthrough a few months ago I’ve been searching for other fun and simple ways of using mangoes to freshen up my diet. They usually never make it into a recipe – being sliced and eaten shortly after purchase – but after seeing an alluring photo of mango salsa in a magazine recently, I was able to refrain from munching long enough to dice up my own version. I hope I don’t insult anyone by posting a “recipe” so simple. It isn’t even much of a recipe, more like guidelines, since all amounts are solely dependent on personal preference. Either way, I couldn’t resist sharing something this colorful and yummy!
Mango Mint Salsa
Ingredients:
2 fresh, ripe mangoes
½ green bell pepper
½ small, white onion
2 plum tomatoes
handful of fresh mint leaves
1 small lemon
1 small lime
pinch of salt
Procedure:
- Carefully peel and dice mangoes. Mince green pepper and onion. Dice up the tomatoes (I used plum because I’m not a fan of gooey tomato centers, but feel free to use whatever kind you’d like. That goes for the bell pepper as well). Finally, mince the mint leaves.
- Throw all ingredients in a medium bowl, including the pinch of salt. Juice the lemon and lime right over the bowl and toss the mix to coat.
- Serve immediately with chips, pita slices, on sandwiches, or salads. Also excellent after a night covered in the fridge…any time longer than that I can’t say as my batch was quickly consumed by all parties in less than 24 hours.
Beezer’s Notes:
First, I’m going to be a bit annoying and address semantics for a sec. Perhaps this veggie/fruit mix isn’t so much of a “salsa” as it is a “salad”; one of my lovely tasters made the comment that she always thought of a salsa as something tomato-based. The Wonderful World of Wiki describes salsa as “any type of sauce…in American English, it usually refers to the spicy, often tomato based, hot sauces typical of Mexican and Central American cuisine.” There are plenty of drier, non-tomato based (or even tomato-less!) sauces described as salsas, though – no spice required. Look at this lovely pineapple number for example. So, taking cue from those more experienced than I, I’ll continue to call my mix a “salsa”.
Naming aside, it is definitely delicious either way. I’ve never had a juicier salsa and the addition of mint pulled the flavors together in such a way that each bite screamed SUMMER to me. The flavors were light and zangy, the textures blended well but were also contrasting enough to be interesting, …and look at those colors! Aren’t the keys to culinary success something like: fresh ingredients, different textures, different colors? Check, check, and check!
Overall Enjoyment: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
