Doing The Mango Tango -- part 1

Well, here we are in June.  More or less the beginning of Mango season here in Southwest Florida.  Lots of great mango recipes and information, so this will be at least a two-part post.  Hopefully you'll find some of these recipes as tasty as Lady Sally and I do.

There are a LOT of mango varieties, from the little yellow uber-sweet ones to those with patches of red or yellow when ripe.  Each has a unique taste, and you should shop around until you find one that suites your taste.

If you're lucky and have a mango tree, congratulations.  If you can find a neighbor with a tree who'll share with you, even better!   Lady Sally's tree has a unique "piney" back taste that we absolutely love, as it counters, just a bit, what can be a cloying sweetness especially as the fruit heads towards over ripe.

For those of you living outside of The Mango Zone, look for fruit that is just soft to the squeeze, sort of like an avocado.  Nothing wrong with over ripe fruit though.  But it's a LOT juicier and more suitable for smoothies, kulfi, and other yummies.  If you have to, you can use frozen bagged mango for these recipes; but stay away from canned mango, it's just not as tasty, an buried in syrup not mango juice.

If you love mango, the one tool you absolutely need is a Mango Splitter.  I used to hate prepping mangoes until I discovered this little device.  Available from housewares places like Bed, Bath and Whatever, or even the housewares section of your megamart for $10 - $20.  This little device takes all the hassle out of peeling and pitting mangoes.

Just line up the oval-ness of the fruit (with its hidden pit) with the oval of the cutting blades, and PUSH.
Turn the large pit-free halves over and with a knife slice a grid pattern.  The push to turn the section inside out:

and slice the cubes of fruit away from the skin.  When I'm done with the side slabs I peel the skin off the ends of the pit, and slice away any goodness left there.

You can also slice a mango into wedges, which is a useful technique for the first recipe.


Mango Upside Down Cake
 This is simply  the mango version of everyone's Pineapple upside down cake; but like always I like to take things to a new level.

1 box Cake Mix -- Spice Cake or Gingerbread Cake (not that wussy yellow cake)
3 Firm-ripe Mangoes sliced into wedges and peeled.
Juice and mango bits leftover from the slicing and peeling
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 stick Butter.

Follow package instructions for your cake, but add the leftover bits of mango to the batter.  Melt the butter, remove from the heat, and stir the brown sugar into it.  Dust a 9" cake pan with flour.  Pour the butter/sugar into the bottom of the pan.  Arrange the mango wedges in a circle.  Gently pour the batter over the fruit.  Bake per package directions.  Rest the cake on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes (but no more).  If the mango-sugar-butter topping starts to set up you're in trouble!   Run a knife around the edge of the pan to free the edge of the cake.  Invert a cake platter on top of the cake pan, and deftly (!) flip the cake over -- bottom's up!  Gently remove the pan:

Be prepared for applause and whistles!

Brazillian Chorizo Black Bean Mango Stew

On June 8th I'll be taking part in a Saladmastertm Open House Cooking School, where chefs and cooks demonstrate the usefulness of Saladmaster products and the audience gets to sample their offerings.  This is my simplified version of a recipe from the Saladmaster website that I will be cooking at that event.  The original recipe used the Mexican sausage called Chorizo.  My take uses a rich, spicy, chorizo-flavored faux meat product.  All the flavor of real chorizo but none of the animal protein or gratuitous fat!

12 oz Tofurkeytm brand Chorizo faux meat

1 medium Sweet White Onion, diced

2 cloves Garlic, sliced

2 medium Sweet Potatoes, peeled & diced

1 large Red Bell Pepper, diced large

1 large (28 oz) can Roteltm diced tomatoes with green chiles (Mild or Medium)

1 large (28 oz) can Black Beans, rinsed and drained

3-4 large Mangoes, peeled, pitted and cubed (2-3 cups of fruit)

¼ cup Cilantro for garnish

water as needed

In the MP-5 set to 350F, cook the onion and garlic until they start to become translucent. Add the chorizo, breaking it apart. As it cooks, add the yams. Then add the beans, and Rotel. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes until the yams soften. Add the mango and cook until it is heated through. Serve garnished with a few leaves of cilantro.  Serves 8.  Recipe can be easily halved by using smaller cans of beans and Rotel, one yam, one mango, etc.  

For those who don't yet own Saladmaster cookware, you'll need to use a 4-5 quart stockpot on medium  heat to make this recipe.  

More Mango Tango to come....