Tag: mango
Mango and Nectarine Chutney
I love this chutney! It is very versatile- it is fabulous with pork or chicken- even duck! I served this with scallops for a get together. It worked out really well since all I had to do was cook the scallops for the big crowd and the condiment was all set in advance- I made it the previous night.
The chutney has a great flavor, especially with the nectarine and mango. Although these fruits are quickly going out of season, there is still some time to make this delectable condiment. The fruit doesn’t have to be very ripe, since it will be cooked down with honey and lots of other spices and fresh herbs.
One of the other reasons this chutney is so versatile is because it has flavors from a few different cuisines. Thyme and rosemary remind me of Italian food; chipotle in adobo sauce reminds me of Southwestern cuisine; and cumin seeds yell Indian cuisine.
For the fall, the same spices can be used with a mixture of apples and pears. I think it would great on top of burgers or with a roast chicken. Even a simple cheese quesadilla will taste great topped with the chutney. I guess my point is to have this in your fridge at all times- it is very convenient and helps to serve a quick meal when you are in a rush!
- 1 large mango, peeled and chopped
- 2 nectarines, chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, roasted and ground
- 1 teaspoon chipotle in adobo sauce, just the sauce if you don’t want the chutney too spicy
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 cup pineapple juice
In a wide frying pan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Add the rosemary, thyme, cumin seeds, chipotle in adobo, mango and nectarines. Mix well and add the salt, honey and pineapple juice. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes till the fruit is soft and the sauce is thick. Check for seasonings.
Seared Tuna with Peach and Mango Salsa
There are some days when I stress out at the thought of coming up with yet another recipe. It’s a very scary thought- my brain is a complete blank- no ideas what so ever…. Then there are days when my brain is completely full of ideas- they are actually spilling out and I don’t know what do with them. I try to make notes so I don’t forget- which happens very often.
Anyway, this recipe came about while there were tons of ideas swimming in my brain. A friend brought over the freshest tuna steaks I have ever seen or eaten. Someone had caught two 200 pounds tuna fish and I got lucky! As soon as I saw the steaks, lots of ideas came to mind. It was lunch time and I immediately wanted to make a fresh tuna salad- which I did and it was fabulous- will post the recipe soon.
For dinner I seared the remaining steaks simply with olive oil, salt and pepper- delicous! I have never had better tasting tuna before. When I think of tuna- something fresh and sweet comes to mind. I made a peach and mango salsa. I love making these salads/salsas in the summer especially because everything is in season and scrumptuous looking. It was very simple, a little lime and pinneapple juice with green onions and cilantro. The meal was really delicious and actually very filling- now I know why tuna is great if you are trying to eat less and healthy. I would highly recommend this dish… try it!
Ancho Chili Cod with a Red Bean and Mango Salad
This red bean salad was the third dish we made for the cooking class. The recipe came about in my attempt to keep up with the number of mangoes ripening in my kitchen. I wanted to eat a refreshing salad that included mangoes. I decided to pair it with red beans- first because it’s good to have protein in the salad and second because I like the red color against the mangoes. I had a few vidalia spring onions (they look like regular spring onions but are much bigger) but regular spring onions will work as well. They gave the salad a soft onion flavor. I also added an orange pepper- for it’s crunch and lovely color- we used a yellow one for the cooking class- all the different colors look gorgeous together. Cilantro added the much needed bright green color. The feta was a last minute addition- not sure what prompted me but I have to say, it was a brilliant one! The creamy and salty flavor goes very well with the sweet mangoes and peppers. I decided to make the dressing with the mango pineapple juice I had in the fridge- now I am not a big juice person- but this juice is absolutely delicious! I buy it once in a while from Whole Foods since it is quite expensive. During the cooking class I juiced a large fresh navel orange and it was just fine. Lime juice and honey added the much needed sweet and sour taste and balanced the flavors out. I added one of my favorite ingredients to the dressing- chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. It adds great smoky and spicy flavor to any dish- I use it in marinades and sauces all the time- it’s delicious.
For the class I paired this salad with the malai chicken and the vegetable korma– but when I was testing the recipe, I paired it with some fish. There is nothing simple, quick and healthier to eat than a nice fillet of fresh fish! I decided to pan saute the fillets of cod and serve simply with- salt, lime juice and a little burst of a smoky flavor- ancho chili powder– I used this particular spice since it echoed the flavor of the adobo in chipotle but was not as spicy. Overall a very healthy meal- my daughter devoured the fish- I didn’t add the ancho powder for her. I gave her some roasted corn on the side- as she does not like anything too tangy- so the salad didn’t appeal to her at all- but she couldn’t get enough of the fish!!!
- 1 pound or 3-4 fillets of Cod
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
- Juice of one lime
Drizzle the olive oil on the fish and then sprinkle with salt, ancho chili powder and limejuice. Heat a non-stick frying pan and cook the fish on high heat. Turn the fish after 3 minutes or till the side is golden brown. Cook the other side for another 3-4 minutes depending on how thick the fillets are.
Red Bean and Mango Salad
- 20 ounces can of red beans
- 2 spring Vidalia onions, chopped including the green part
- 1 orange or red peppers, chopped
- 2 mangoes peeled and chopped
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Vinaigrette
- Juice of 2 limes
- ¼ cup mango pineapple juice (pineapple or orange juice can be used)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon ground roasted cumin
- 1 teaspoon chipotle in adobo sauce (use more if you like spicy)
- Salt to taste
Add the limejuice, mango pineapple juice, honey, roasted cumin, adobo sauce and salt to a small bowl. Whisk the olive oil until the vinaigrette is emulsified. Keep aside.
In a large bowl, add the red beans, Vidalia onions, red peppers, mangoes, cilantro and feta. Add the vinaigrette and check for seasonings.
Smoky Tomatillo Rice with Avocado and Mango Salad
Once in a while I come up with an absolutely genius one pot meal. Well, this is it- I even surprised myself when I tasted it. I wanted to make something with spanish and mexican flavors but didn’t want to make the normal quesadillas or fajitas or even burritos. I thought about it for almost the whole day and then finally came up with this fabulous dish. I had bought some ground turkey from Trader Joes the day before- I was actually planning to make meat balls with veggies but somehow didn’t feel like it. I have noticed that if I force myself to cook a dish, it doesn’t taste very good… I have to really want to make it – I usually visualize it in my head before I cook the dish- it sounds a little cooky but that is how my brain works. Anyway, I wanted to incorporate the ground turkey somehow in the dish, so I decided to pair it with rice and beans. When I think of Mexican food- tomatillos come to mind – I love using tomatillos– they have a very tart and creamy flavor. I also wanted to create a smoky dish but didn’t want to add any heat since I wanted Sia to enjoy it- so I decided to use smoked paprika which has a little bit of heat but a lot of flavor. I also decided to use one of my favorite ingredients- roasted frozen corn. It also has a nice roasted smoky flavor. I blended the tomatillos, garlic, cilantro and vidalia spring onions and used that as the underlying flavor for the rice. I don’t know if you all have noticed huge vidalia spring onions every where?? They are delicious- mild enough to use in salads but also have a lot of flavor for sauces, etc. Once the rice was cooked with all the delicious ingredients, I decided to take it to the next level and add cheese. My first thought was to add queso blanco but then I remembered I had a blend of shredded mexican cheeses in my fridge. It included monterey jack, queso blanco and a bunch of other cheeses- perfect! I love sweet and savory flavors in my dishes and decided to add raisins- they are optional but I would highly recommend them. The little burst of sweet juice midst the smoky rice was very pleasant. Now as we all know my daughter is obsessed with mangoes- so we have plenty in the house at all times. I wanted to make a cool salad to go with the rice and decided to combine avocados with mangoes. I thought very hard about this since both the ingredients have similar textures- my initial idea was to add some crunch to it but at the end I decided to keep it simple- some salt, lime juice and cilantro. I served the salad on top of the hot rice- it was out of this world!!! If you cook just one dish from this blog I would recommend this one- it was truly delicious. All the flavors went really well together- the hot smoky rice with the cool creamy salad- a match made in heaven!
Grilled Shrimp with a Spicy Mango Glaze
Shrimp is a staple in our family. We all love it and I am challenged to prepare it in different ways while incorporating it in different cuisines. These days with the way the economy is, I buy frozen shrimp from the market to save money and keep it in my freezer. There is a big price difference between the fresh and frozen. I always look for wild shrimp caught in the US. While making dishes with very bold flavors, frozen shrimp is perfect- but I wouldn’t use it for a shrimp cocktail or a ceviche- fresh is the way to go with such dishes.
I had the mango puree in my fridge and I had read a recipe for a fish glazed with a mango sauce. I decided to use shrimp instead and add the puree instead of using fresh mangoes- my daughter does not want me to use the fresh mangoes for anything but her consumption! I decided to make the sauce tangy and a little spicy- perfect for a summer evening dinner. It was a warm day and I knew I was in the mood to grill. The dish didn’t take very long to make at all. The sauce was done in 20 minutes and the shrimp took all of 5 minutes to grill. I prepared a coconut lemongrass rice with it- I will post the recipe tomorrow. My daughter does not like anything too tangy- so I didn’t glaze her share of the shrimp on the grill. She really enjoyed them especially with the rice. It was a perfect meal for a warm evening and we drank a yummy sauvignon blanc with it.
With warmer evenings ahead of us my goal is to come up with dishes that are easy to prepare, don’t take a long time to cook and are delicious! What do you cook during the summer months and are you buying less or different items to save on your grocery bill??
Marinade
- 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 serrano chilies, deseeded and chopped
- 1 tablespoons fresh ginger
- Juice of one lemon
- ½ cup mango puree
Shrimp
- 1 pound shrimp
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
Combine the vinegar, brown sugar, cumin, salt, Serrano chilies, ginger in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes or until caramelized. Mix in the mango puree and simmer for another 10 minutes on low heat. Add the lemon juice and taste for seasonings. Keep aside.
Coat the shrimp with olive oil and salt. Right before grilling add ¼ cup of the mango glaze to the shrimp and mix well. Place the shrimp on the grill and brush the mango glaze on top. Cook for a minute, change sides and brush with mango glaze. Remove from grill and set aside on a warm plate. Garnish with cilantro and a drizzle of the mango glaze on top.
Mango Salsa
- 1 mango, peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup diced red pepper
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeno
- 1/3 cup diced green onion
- 2 limes juiced
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves
- Salt and pepper
Combine the mango, cucumber, jalapeno, red onion, lime juice and cilantro leaves and mix well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.