If you are following the hundred-mile diet I suggest you pass this article by, as Mangoes travel hundreds sometimes thousands of miles to grace our North American grocery aisles.
If you are a poet then you may like to know that the mango was once believed to provide Sanskrit poets with sweet voices in which to recite their work.
Originating in India, Manga, or the mango is an Asian fruit grown in tropical climates. The luscious mangoes you will purchase this time of year are from Peru and are firm, golden to green with a bit of blush and mildly sweet flesh.
These delicious tropical fruits are a true comfort food as they provide digestive enzymes that soothe the stomach and leave you with a feeling of contentment. The digestive enzymes also act as a tenderizing agent for meats and along with the mango flavour makes for a perfect marinade.
You can tell your spastic colon to calm down as the fibre in one mango can ease things nicely along and your hips can relax because the low calorie count will keep you slim and trim.
This royal fruit is perfect to pop into your backpack and nosh on after exercise as it replaces lost potassium. An excellent source of vitamin A and C, this fruit is a mighty mop for free radicals and the beta carotene content will boost immunity and lower cancer risks.
When you go to the produce aisle to pick your pack of mangoes pick ones that have a fruity aroma around the stem end and feel slightly soft to the touch. The best flavour comes from the fruit with a yellow tinge but can be any combination of red, yellow, green and orange.
Mangoes are best kept on the kitchen counter and have a shelf life of one to two weeks. To speed up the ripening process put the mango in a paper bag with an apple. Once ripened the mango can be refrigerated for a couple of days for preservation.
This makes an excellent starter course, and is equally great as a light luncheon dish. If you want to impress guests, this one is the dish to make!
Mango salad with grilled shrimp
Ingredients
Mango salad:
2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice
1 (4-inch-long) fresh hot red chile peppers, thinly sliced, including seeds
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
2 firm-ripe mangoes, pitted, peeled, and thinly sliced
Shrimp:?
16 jumbo shrimp (1 1/4 pounds), shelled, leaving tail and adjoining first segment attached and de-veined
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
?1 medium fresh jalape帽o chilli peppers, minced, including seeds?
2 teaspoons ground cumin
teaspoon
Salt
?Lime wedges ?
Preparation
Mango salad: Whisk together brown sugar and lime juice in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved, then whisk in red chilli peppers, shallot, cilantro, and mint. Add mangoes, tossing gently.
Shrimp: Beginning at thick end, insert a skewer lengthwise through each shrimp to straighten. Transfer to a tray.
?Whisk together oil, jalapeno chilli, cumin, and salt; brush on skewered shrimp until well coated. Grill shrimp, turning occasionally, until lightly charred and just cooked through, about four minutes.
Toss mango salad again and divide among four individual serving plates. Arrange four shrimp on top of each serving.?? Makes four (first course) servings.
