This week we received a box of fresh, ripe mangoes as part of a Fruit of the Month club that someone generously gave us over the holidays. I cut open one of the mangoes to sample with my youngest daughter and it was like eating sweet candy. I knew we had to use these up soon because they were so ripe so I immediately thought of Mango Salsa.

What’s On Hand Mango Salsa

Mango salsa is one of those dishes that is very versatile and can be made with what you may have on hand in the refrigerator, my favorite kind of recipe.  I happen to have most of the ingredients needed for this recipe except I did have to borrow a fresh lime from my neighbor.

I even had a jicama, a legume that looks like a turnip but is sweet and crispy and is popular in Mexican cuisine that I cut up into small chunks and toss in. Jicama tastes like a cross between an apple or pear and water chestnuts.  Found in most supermarkets today, it is an edible root that you may want to play around with.

Versatility

We served this batch of mango salsa with roasted fresh salmon and tonight I’m thinking of grilling or pan-frying some chicken breasts to serve with what’s left. Of course it would be great with tortilla chips, a stir-fry or how about a mango smoothie.

One tip I would offer is to not overwhelm the salsa with mango. I have been served mango salsa in restaurants where all you taste is the mango. The batch I made last night was balanced nicely with plenty of mango but also with the other ingredients so there were layers of flavors. I was very pleased with the overall flavor.

The Reluctant Gourmet’s Mango Salsa

Here’s what I added to my mango salsa, but you can experiment with lots of ingredients. Lot’s of folks like to add chile peppers to spice it up, but since I was serving it to the kids, I left them out.

The size of the dice really depends on your own personal preferences. Do you like it chunky or finely diced? I like to finely dice the onion and chile pepper if included but leave the mango and jicama a little larger.

Ingredients:

• 2 fresh & ripe mangos, peeled & pit removed and diced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• ½ red onion, finely diced
• ½ jicama, peeled and diced
• ½ bunch of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• juice from a whole lime
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

Alternative ingredients:
Jalapeño chile, garlic, cucumber,  avocado, apples, black beans, corn,  fresh pineapple

How to Make Mango Salsa at Home

After you cut up all the ingredients, combine them in a bowl and squeeze the lime juice on top. Season with a little salt and pepper, stir, then taste. You can adjust the seasoning by adding a little of this or a little of that to make it more or less hot.

If you use fresh ingredients, it’s going to taste great right away but if you let it sit an hour or more and let the flavors meld together, it’s going to taste even better. I’m betting it is going to be incredible tonight with chicken.

I served this mango salsa with salmon and fresh local corn and a glass of 2008 Cloudline Pinot Gris from Oregon.  Simple, easy and absolutely delicious.

Related Topics

Mango Salsa with Black Beans