"mangoes" news and stories

Juicy and delicious mangoes can be a challenge to cut uniformly. These tips make it easier.

Sliced Mango Photo: Hojusaram/Flickr

• Did you know that June is National Mango Month? The Statesman takes part in the fruity celebrations with a bunch of mango-centric recipes, plus a dairy-free ice cream.
  
• A local cancer survivor shares a bean-free recipe for Chicken and Rice.
• Grilled pizzas are definitely the new fad. Now Austin jumps on the bandwagon.
• Annie's Cafe and Bar gets a makeover, moving from boxed lunches to catering and breakfast, lunch and dinner, farm-to-table-style.
• Recipes: Golden Summer Corn Soup and Creamy Mexican Cheese Dip.
• News bites from Nawlins grains to Father's Day dining, plus everything from Rockstar Bagels to burger recipes.

Some of you may already know that I enjoy eating the occasional gloriously messy mango whilst perched over the sink. As you can see from the above pic, that's not the only way I like to savor this supremely refreshing tropical fruit.

Years ago a friend hipped me to the practice of sprinkling my mango with salt and hot sauce. His wife was from Guyana and she always had a bottle of homemade Scotch bonnet pepper sauce. Actually it wasn't so much a sauce as a fiery mix of chopped bright orange and yellow peppers floating in vinegar. This wasn't the first time I encountered this combination though. Back in my college days me and some friends used to have contests to see who could eat the most Patak's mango pickle. Straight out of the jar, mind you, with little more accompaniment than pappadam.

Something about this shot struck a deep Pavlovian chord within me. It could be that it's so humid in New York City these days that the very idea of indulging in a citrusy, summery mangolicious dessert is positively refreshing. Or it could be that mangoes are just downright sexy. Most likely it's a combination of all these things.

Either way Nook & Pantry's Mango Lime Curd Tart is a decidedly more elegant way to eat mangoes than my usual method, which involves standing over the sink and slurping. Plus, this tart adds the bracing flavor of lime curd. It's enough to make me want to take up baking. If you feel the same way, click here for the recipe.

[via Tastespotting]

• You can make a lot of different things with mangoes.
• This guy makes green beans pickled with soy sauce and wasabi, smokra (which is okra with smokey paprika), and rosemary-scented pickled beets.
• This isn't your typical veggie burger.
• An interview with Barbara Kingsolver about her new food book.
• More books: it's the silver anniversary of The Silver Palate Cookbook.
• This week's recipes: Bulgur Wheat Salad, Imperial Asparagus, Chicken Marbella, Rougaille Beef, and Brownies.