There’s no doubt about it; when you think of the fabulously fresh flavours of summer, mango is always first on the list. Perhaps that’s to be expected, given that this tantalising tropical fruit is renowned the world over as the ‘king of fruits’ – a title that purportedly harks back to its popularity among princes of the east centuries ago and the belief that it was the food of the gods in ancient India.
Although mangoes originated in this region more than 4000 years ago, they‘ve become pretty well travelled, spreading throughout the world’s tropical and sub-tropical belt. That includes to our sunny shores, where they’re grown in abundance in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.
We’re really spoilt for choice when it comes to our home-grown mangoes; nine different cultivars are grown locally and are available from December well into April, all offering the most succulently sweet flesh and a range vibrant colours.
These include the early season Tommy Atkins, a medium to large sized fruit with a thick skin and beautiful sunset orange-red colouring; Zill, a small to medium mango with mild, sweet flesh and a greenish yellow skin with hues of red; and the medium-sized fibre-fleshed Peach and Sabre with their yellow colouring and red cheeks. February to April (mid-season) mangoes include Sensation, a small to medium sized oval fruit with a firm, stringless flesh and green purple colouration; and the sweet, succulent Heidi which is a medium to large, heart shaped fruit with hues of red and yellow.
There are two other mangoes that have greenish yellow skins – Kent, a green-yellow mango with sweet, juicy and fibreless flesh, and Keitt, an oval-shaped mango with a yellow skin and very slight red blush. The skins of both these cultivars often remain green-yellow even when they’re ripe and ready to eat – so don’t make the mistake of thinking they’re not ripe! Kent is available mid to late season, while you’ll find Keitt towards the end of the season.
That means you can include marvellous mangoes in all your summer dishes. Why not try chilled mango and roasted red pepper soup for starters, followed by chicken, mango and cashew nut curry for mains and a zesty mango fool for dessert? Having a braai? The mango, biltong and blue cheese braai salad is the ultimate accompaniment. And of course their gorgeous green and red festive colours make merry mangoes equally at home on the formal or alfresco festive table.
Perfect at the poolside or a picnic in the park, dressed up in a delicious dish or simply eaten ‘hedgehog style’ right out the skin, mangoes are undeniably this season’s must-have fruit!
But don’t curb your magical mango moments to the sunshine months, because you’ll find dried mango, atchars, jams, pickles, juices, tinned fruit and all the other mango by-products; on shop shelves all year long.
Mango Recipes
Chilled Mango & Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 3 large yellow peppers, seeded and quartered
- 2 large mangoes, peeled and cut into chunks (about 2 ½ cups) reserve ½ cup for garnish
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons tabasco sauce – optional
Preparation
- Place peppers cut side down on an aluminium foil-lined baking sheet. Grill for 15 minutes or until blistered. Place peppers in a large zip-lock plastic bag; seal and let stand for 10 minutes to loosen skins, or place in a bowl and cover with cling-wrap. Peel peppers, discarding skins
- Process peppers and mango in a blender or food processor until smooth and then add the mango juice, stock, lime juice, ginger and tabasco sauce
- Process until smooth
- Transfer to a bowl, cover and chill soup for 2 hours.
- Serve in chilled bowls garnished with mango pieces and croutons
Note: If a smoother consistency is desired, press mango mixture through a wire-mesh strainer, use the back of a spoon to squeeze out the liquid. Discard pulp and solids. Straining and discarding solids will yield less volume but makes a very smooth soup.
Mango & Smoked Beef Salad Platter with Micro Greens
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 2 large ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced
- 100g smoked beef
- 100g baby leaf salad or micro greens
- ½ cup mini croutons
- 50g parmesan shavings
- olive oil & balsamic vinegar to serve
Preparation
- Heat a grill pan and drizzle with olive oil
- Grill pieces of mango until slightly charred but still firm
- Arrange all ingredients on a platter, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
- Serve with crusty bread and a splash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Mango & Parma Ham with Mango Vinaigrette
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 100g Parma ham
- 2 large mangoes, peeled and sliced
For the vinaigrette
- 1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped
- ½ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon red chilli flakes, crushed (optional)
Preparation
- Wrap pieces of Parma ham around the mango slices, and arrange on a platter or individual plates
- To make the vinaigrette, whizz all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth
- Serve mango and Parma ham drizzled with vinaigrette and garnish with fresh herbs
Mango, Biltong & Blue Cheese Braai Salad
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 6 ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced
- 150g blue cheese, crumbled
- 100g biltong, sliced
Preparation
- Arrange mango slices on a platter, scatter the blue cheese and biltong over, drizzle with olive oil and serve
Mango, Feta & Sweet Chilli Salad
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 6 large ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced
- 200g feta cheese
- 10 spring onions, sliced
- ¼ cup sweet chilli sauce
- 1 lemon juice & zest
Preparation
- Arrange the mangoes on a platter, crumble the feta cheese over and scatter with spring onions
- To make the dressing whisk the sweet chilli sauce with the lemon juice and zest and pour over the salad. Serve immediately
Chicken, Mango & Cashew Nut Curry
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 4 deboned chicken breasts, diced, or 8 deboned chicken thighs
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons korma curry paste
- 1 chicken stock cube (optional)
- 2 large mangoes, peeled and chopped
- 1 tin coconut cream
- 50g cashew nuts
- Coriander to garnish
Preparation
- Sauté the chicken pieces in olive oil, add the onion and curry paste and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, adding ½ cup of water or chicken stock if necessary
- Add the mango, reserving a few pieces for garnish and add the coconut cream
- Simmer for 20 -30 minutes until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened slightly
- Serve garnished with cashew nuts, mango pieces and coriander
Mango & Cinnamon Oats
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 4 cups water
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 large mangoes, peeled and chopped
- A handful of dried mango
- 100ml cream
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
Preparation
- Place oats, water, cinnamon and dried mango in a medium saucepan
- Stir over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes until the oats are thick and smooth
- Stir in the mango pieces(reserving a few for garnish) and the sugar and cream
- Serve garnished with extra mango
Mango Breakfast Parfait with Vanilla Bean Syrup, Yoghurt & Granola
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 4 large ripe mangoes, peeled and cut into cheeks
- 2 cups thick Greek style yoghurt
- 1 cup granola
For the vanilla bean syrup
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup white sugar
- 4- 6 vanilla pods split length wise
Preparation
- Place the water, sugar and vanilla pods in a saucepan over high heat, bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10–15 minutes until sugar is dissolved.
- Set aside to cool. Can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 months
- Grill or roast the mango cheeks, arrange on plates and top with yoghurt and granola, spoon over vanilla bean syrup and serve
Mango Fool
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 large ripe mangoes, peeled and chopped
- 1 lemon juice and zest
- 2 tablespoons castor sugar – optional
- 500ml thick Greek style yoghurt
Preparation
- Reserve a few pieces of mango to garnish
- Puree the remaining mango flesh with the lemon juice
- Add the castor sugar according to your taste, depending on the sweetness of the mangoes
- Fold the puree into the yoghurt and spoon into glasses. Place in the refrigerator until well chilled
- Serve the chilled fool garnished with the reserved mango pieces
Mango Curd Tartlets
Ingredients
For the Mango Curd
Makes 1 – 1 ½ cups
- 1 cup mango, pureed
- ¼ cup castor sugar
- 2 tablespoons corn flour
- ¼ cup butter, unsalted
- 2 lemons, juice and zest
- 4 eggs, beaten
For the Tartlets
6 pastry cases
- 1 large firm mango, peeled
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar
Preparation
- To make the curd : Combine all the ingredients except the eggs in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until slightly thickened
- Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl. Remove mango mixture from the heat, pour half the mixture into the eggs and whisk, return the egg mixture to the pan with the remaining mango mixture and return to the heat
- Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly
- Remove from heat, cover and cool
To assemble the tartlets
- Spoon tablespoonfuls of the cooled mango curd into the pastry cases
- Using a vegetable peeler cut strips of mango to decorate the tartlets
- Dust with icing sugar to serve
Mango Yoghurt Popsicles
Makes 6 popsicles
Ingredients
- 2 mangoes peeled and diced
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Preparation
- Puree mango in a blender with the lemon juice and sugar
- Divide puree among popsicle molds, and freeze until solid, about 6 hours.
