Salsa, of a rhythmic Latin American dance. And of a sauce. A condiment with names, types, characters varied.
From Roja, of red to verde, of green.
With sweetcorn, onions, carrots, pineapples and mangoes – each starring as the main ingredient. Even with citrus too.
This salsa I present to you is of mangoes.
Sweet, sour, spicy, salty, perfect as a salad. As a topping. As a ‘hanging out in the kitchen and chatting with Mama snack’.
It doesn’t require a recipe, per say….but the mangoes which give it the name, should be plentiful.
My rough guide is 1 cup of mangoes to 1 cup of all the other ingredients.
I keep an eye on the balance of colours – I like some green, red and white to make the orangey goodness of my well-cut mango chunks stand out.
I keep my mouth on the flavours – sweet, spicy, tasty….with citrus freshness.
I keep my nose on the scents. The fragrances. The smells of freshness, of cilantro-goodness, of floral and ‘clean’ from the limes.
I begin with an assembly.
Mangoes. Limes. Chilies. Bell peppers. Cilantro. If available. If not I cry in my heart. I stop myself from cursing. Cucumbers.
My aim is always to have the ingredients in ‘dice’, small squares of a similar size.
It doesn’t matter the order in which they go in.
In this case, I begin with mangoes, cucumbers and finely grated lime zest, on my microplane.
The choice of using a chili with seeds is yours to make. I like some heat for balance, so I add some seeds. It is no big deal – you could always deseed the chilies.
I could have used any colour of bell peppers, but I had green. Yellow, red, orange and purple would also go well. Choice as ever? Is yours. To make.
I like to use both the green and white of spring onions.
I like to add lots of cilantro. But tonight, on this night….all the cilantro I have is ground into a paste. Mint, parsley, celery leaves could also feature.
And when I’m done, I stir to combine. I admire the colours. I squeeze some lime juice over the top. I taste. I adjust. Then I get ready to serve.
We have it with rice sometimes. And in wraps, others.
It makes a colourful addition to our table, and our plates.
Make your own salsa rules. Choose your colours. Your flavours. Tickle your tastebuds. Your way. Enjoy.[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Mango Salsa: A Quick & Easy Recipe Guide – – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]
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