Cucumber, Mango and Black Bean Salad

Love this refreshing salad!  Good as a side or a meal on its own.

1 seedless cucumber, washed and cut into 1/2 inch dice
1/2 medium mango, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
1 Jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional)

• In a large bowl, toss cucumber, mango and black beans.
• For dressing:  In a small bowl, mix lime and orange juices, cilantro, salt and pepper.  Pour over cucumber mixture and toss well.  Let stand 10 minutes for flavours to blend.

Mango Almond Tart

This is a wonderful rich tart with a cookie base and some great seasonal spices.  From Food and Drink Holiday 2000.

BASE:
250 g butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

FILLING:
2 cups ground almonds, toasted
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp stem ginger in syrup, minced
pinch salt
2 eggs, beaten

TOPPING:
1 to 2 mangoes, thinly sliced
2 tbsp lime juice
1/2 cup apricot jam

• With electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg and egg yolk.
• Sift together flour, salt, cardamom, nutmeg and cinnamon.  Blend into creamed mixture.  Form into a ball.  Wrap in plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Lightly flour a board and roll out dough about 1/4 inch thick to fit a 10 or 11 inch tart pan.  Prick with fork.  Place a layer of foil on pastry and fill with dried beans or rice to weight pastry down.  Bake 15 minutes, remove foil and beans and bake a further 10 minutes or until pastry is pale gold.
• Combine almonds and butter.  Sprinkle in sugar and ginger and mix until mixture is lightened.  Add salt and eggs and combine.  Spread on base of baked pie shell.  Bake 20 minutes or until almond mixture is set.  Cool.
• Toss mango slices with lime juice.  Fan mango slices over top.  Melt apricot jam and brush top of tart with glaze.

Serves 8

Tandoori Salmon Fillets with Mango Mint Relish

A wonderful salmon dish with loads of Indian flavour.  I used Greek Yogurt thinned with a bit of milk for this.  The Mango Mint relish really compliments the salmon.  From Food and Drink Autumn 2003.

MARINADE
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp garam masala or curry paste (I prefer the garam masala)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup plain yogurt
4 salmon fillets, about 175 g each

MANGO MINT RELISH
1 large mango, peeled
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp finely chopped jalapeno pepper
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil for brushing salmon

1. Combine garlic, ginger, lemon juice, garam masala, vegetable oil and yogurt.  Spread on salmon. Let marinate for 1 hour.
2. Dice mango into 1/2 inch dice.  Toss with onions, ginger, jalapeno pepper, lime juice and mint leaves.  Season with salt (I omit the salt).  Reserve, refrigerated until needed.
3. Brush salmon with oil then grill salmon flesh side down for 2 minutes, turn over, close lid and grill 5 minutes on skin side or until white juices appear.  Serve relish on the side.

Serves 4

Mango Fruit Pavlova

This is a variation of a recipe I found in Food & Drink 2011.  I like Mango and it works well with the sweet meringue.

MERINGUE
4 large egg whites at room temperature
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp white vinegar

CREAM & FRUIT
1 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 ripe mango

1. Preheat the oven to 250F
2. Trace an 8 inch circle onto a piece of parchment paper using a magic marker, and line a baking tray with the parchment paper, with the marked side down (so the ink won't transfer to the meringue as it bakes).
3. Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until they are foamy, then slowly pour in the sugar while whipping and continue whipping on high speed until the whites hold a stiff peak when the beaters are lifted (the whites will be thick and glossy). Fold in the cornstarch and vinegar.  Spoon the whites onto the parchment paper and spread it to fit the circle, using your spatula to create pretty swirls.
4. Bake the meringue for 75 to 90 minutes until the exterior is dry, cracking the oven door if the meringue starts showing signs of browning.  Once out of the oven and cooled, the meringue should feel dry on the outside and peel away from the parchment easily.  If still a little soft, return to the 250F oven for another 10 to 20 minutes.  Cool the meringue on the tray before removing.
5. Whip the cream to a soft peak and beat in the sugar, lemon zest and juice.  Chill until ready to assemble.
6. Assemble the pavlova immediately before serving.  Place the meringue onto a platter and top with the whipped cream.  Peel and cut the mango into small pieces and spoon over cream.  Slice and serve as you would a cake or tart.

Serves 8

Mango Mini Cheesecakes

I like that these are individual.  It makes it so much more fun.  A simple recipe and the fruit toppings can be switched up according to your preference.  Try strawberries, raspberries, pineapple or manderin oranges! You can change the crust to a regular graham crust, but why would you?  The ginger crust makes this different and delicious.  From Food and Drink 2005.

2 cups crumbled gingersnaps
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup plain cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup honey
2 tsp grated lime rind

TOPPING
1 large mango, peeled and sliced
3 tbsp apricot jam (I left this out - I prefer just putting on the fresh fruit)

1. Place gingersnaps and almonds in food processor (or blender) and process together until almonds are finely chopped.  Add butter and process briefly.
2. Grease 6 wells of a muffin tin, and line each with plastic wrap.  Divide crumbs amongst wells; press into bottom and up sides to make 6 mini crusts.  Chill for 30 minutes
3. Use a hand mixer to beat together mascarpone, cream cheese, sour cream, honey and lime rind.  Divide into 6 and spoon into chilled shells.  Chill at least 1 hour or overnight.
4. Place mango on top of cheesecakes.  Melt jam until just liquid, strain and brush over mango.  Let set for 30 minutes.  Then remove cheesecake from muffin cups.  Serve with extra fruit if desired.

Serves 6.

Fish Tacos

Another really great kid friendly one although they may not go for the fruit salsa - just leave it off if they won't eat it

1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 lb fish fillets - salmon or whatever they will eat
1/4 cup canola or olive oil
2 tbsp lime or lemon juice
1-2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper if needed

1 pkg taco shells or small flour tortillas

Fruit Salsa
1 kiwi, finely chopped
1/2 cup mango, finely chopped
1/2 cup pineapple, finely chopped
1/4 cup purple onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
1 tbsp lime juice

1. Put the onions in the bottom of a medium baking dish and top with the fish fillets, canola oil, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper.  Cover and set aside for 30 minutes, or refrigerate for an hour or two.
2. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large skillet set over medium high heat.  Add the fish fillets and cook for about 3 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for another 2 minutes, or until just cooked through. Set aside on a plate or keep warm in a 200F oven.
3. Add a little more oil and saute the onions, until soft and starting to turn golden.  Set aside in a separate bowl, or add to the fish.
4. to make the salsa, combine the fruit, onion, cilantro and lime juice in a medium bowl; gently toss to combine and refrigerate until needed.
5. To serve tacos, flake the fish with a fork and load taco shells or soft flour tortillas with some fish, and onions and top with fruit salsa.