Ripe Mango Salad with Peanut Dressing

My mother tasted a banana for the first time,  as an eight-year-old girl in Paris, shortly after the end of the Second World War. The precious fruit was a gift from her uncle who was serving in the American army, and who decided to pay a call on the French branch of the family before returning home. Mom was perplexed by this new fruit, not realizing that she had to peel it to access its soft, sweet flesh. Bananas were available in abundance when I was growing up, but mangoes…not so much.

Ripe Mango Salad with Peanut Dressing

Selecting a ready-to-eat mango can be a challenge even for the most experienced shopper. With a little bit of foreknowledge you can avoid ending up with a mango that’s impossible to cut, overly stringy, or outrageously sour.

• Touch and feel around the entire mango. Ripe mangoes will be slightly soft to the touch just like avocados and peaches. Inspect the mango visually. The ideal mango should be football-shaped, so you should choose mangoes that are full, plump and rounded, especially around the stem.
• Smell mangoes near their stems. Ripe mangoes will always have a strong, sweet, fragrant and fruity aroma around the stem. A ripe mango has a smell somewhat like melon, but also like pineapple, with a little hint of carrot thrown in.
• Look at color last. In general, the color of mangoes is not the best way to look for ripeness. Since the colors of ripe mangoes can be bright yellow, green, pink, or red depending on the variety and season, color alone won’t necessarily tell you much about the ripeness of a mango.

This recipe  by culinary star Bonnie Stern, published in her indispensable cookbook the Essentials of Home Cooking, is the perfect showcase for sweet, ripe, mangoes. With thin wedges of succulent mango resting on a bed of mixed greens, dusted with coarsely chopped, roasted, salted cashews and drizzled with a lime-infused peanut dressing, this salad is the perfect dish for lunch or can be topped with grilled chicken for an easy, light supper. There is no need to fear choosing a perfectly ripe mango. Courage! You could be the next mango whisperer.

Assemble your ingredients.

Peel the mangoes and slice the flesh off around the pit. Slice each mango into at least 8 wedge shaped pieces.

Combine the peanut butter and water to thin out the peanut butter. Whisk in the rest of the dressing ingredients until smooth. This can also be done in the food processor or using a stick blender. Set the dressing aside.

Before using raw shallots, slice them and soak them in cold water for 30 minutes to remove some of their pungency.

Chop the roasted cashews coarsely using a knife.

Arrange the greens on a platter. Top with mango wedges. Drizzle with the dressing and scatter the sliced shallots and chopped peanuts on top.

Print Recipe

Ripe Mango Salad with Peanut Dressing

Soups and Salads

By Bonnie Stern, Essentials of Home Cooking – Serves: 6

Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 15 minutes

Thin wedges of succulent mango resting on a bed of mixed greens, dusted with roasted, salted cashews and drizzled with a lime-infused peanut dressing

Ingredients

• Peanut Dressing:
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon hot Asian chili paste
• Salad:
• 2 ripe mangoes
• 8 cups mixed greens
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced shallots, soaked in water for 30 minutes to remove some of their pungency
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped, toasted cashews or peanuts

Instructions

Make the dressing:

1

Whisk together the peanut butter and water, to thin out the peanut butter. Add the lime juice, soy sauce, granulated sugar and hot Asian chili paste. You can also use a food processor to combine the dressing ingredients or use a stick blender. Set this mixture aside.

For the salad:

2

Peel the mangoes. Slice each mango into 8 or more wedges.

3

Arrange the greens on a platter. Top with the mango slices.

4

Drizzle the dressing over the salad right before serving. Top with shallots that have been patted dry after soaking them in water. Scatter coarsely chopped cashews (or peanuts) over the top.

Notes

Leftover grilled chicken in the fridge? Slice it up and add it to the salad for a light and satisfying summer supper.