Mango season has well and truly arrived here in Australia. Starting early with the first tray of mangoes for the 2013 season selling for $30,000 at a charity auction at the Sydney Markets in September. That’s a whopping $2,500 per mango. I’ve always associated this luscious, fragrant fruit with high summer. Long, lazy days spent at the beach. Trays of mangoes chilling on the bottom shelf of the fridge. Cooling. Refreshing. The hallmark of a great mango? Bursting with juice and incredibly messy. Just try eating one without juice dribbling all over your hands and down your arms. Perhaps that’s why some swear the best place to eat a mango is in the pool or by the water.
Late October and local Northern Territory mangoes, perfectly ripe, headily perfumed and far more reasonably priced, have started to appear on greengrocer’s shelves and at Farmer’s Markets. Yesterday, to my family’s delight, I brought home a tray. How to eat the first mango of the season? Slicing away the fleshy cheeks and peeling back the skin, I settled on a fresh mango salsa to accompany a simple roasted chicken. So simple it really doesn’t qualify as a recipe.
Of course there was no shortage of hovering volunteers to ‘bag’ the discarded mango stone. Quite obviously in an unabashed bid to savour the last delicious traces of fruit clinging to its surfaces. Howls of disappointment when I declared it to be the cook’s reward. So much ado about nothing. Dessert tonight would be a perfect mango each. To devour as they wish. No holds barred.
Fresh Mango Salsa With Lime, Chilli and Spring Onion
Makes about 2 cups
This salsa is so simple to prepare and a superb accompaniment to not only poultry but all manner of grilled seafood. Think prawns, calamari, snapper and swordfish.
2 medium sized firm ripe mangoes, peeled and flesh finely diced
1 fresh long red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
4 long green spring onions, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon palm sugar, grated
sea salt flakes to season
PLACE all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix well to combine. Season to taste.
SET aside for at least half an hour to allow flavours to meld before serving.
The Paddington Foodie 
we are looking forward to summer mangos too, great looking salsa!
Thanks. We’ve already eaten half the tray! Such a treat in October.
i’m jealous up here in japan. getting a good mango in this season is literally impossible. and even in season, they cost an arm and a leg.
that being said, i’m totally on board with a good mango salsa. i make a blended spicy mango sauce with fresh mint to go with my white fish whenever i can, but maybe i’ll have to mix it up and try your recipe next time. i like the addition of that spring onion.
I bet yuzu is in season in Japan at the moment. I’m totally obsessed with yuzu fruit which is impossible to source here in Australia. I have a precious bottle of yuzu juice ihidden in my pantry cupboard. Now there’s an idea mango salsa made with yuzu instead of lime juice. Your sauce sounds good. Mango and mint are divine together.
yuzu can be tricky because the flesh is, on the whole, a no no. the zest, aroma, and juice are the most valued parts of the yuzu fruit.
i have a buddy with a yuzu tree. he saws off a huge bough and puts it in my atrium every year. i use the zest and juice to make yuzukosho, a super spicy, sweet, citrusy sauce with a similar texture to mustard. it is also quite the pairing with white fish and grilled chicken.
You should do a post about that.There is a growing interest in yuzu in foodie circles at the moment. I also have a bottle of Yuzushu hidden away in a cupboard and some yuzu ‘jam’ which I use to make tea and flavour marinades. Our local gelateria made a special batch of yuzu gelato last summer but apparently it is quite tricky sourcing the concentrate. Our quarantine laws are quite strict.
hmmm. well, sir, your wish is my command. maybe i’ll dedicate a week to it as soon as i get my branch this year. i still have a few wine bottles of homemade yuzushu from last year that should have quite the kick.
do your quarantine laws allow juice/liquor/zest? i could easily send you some if they are allowed. let me know if your craving gets a little too intense.
I love mango and your salsa looks so scrumptious. 🙂 So jealous of you upcoming season! I hate winter! 😉