Mango salad with ginger-raisin vinaigrette
Mangoes only grow in tropical climates. This is one of those fruits like pineapple or bananas that I won’t be finding at my local Northern California farmers market. But I can find the greens, peppers, and raisins in season.
A mango comes together with more northern latitude vegetables to make a very refreshing salad I've tried recently from Eating Well In Season: The Farmers' Market Cookbook. Perhaps the only minor mystery for some will be how best to end up with mango in bite-sized cubes.
Slice the ends off. Stand it upright. Slice the peel off with vertical cuts. Slice off long pieces of the fruit parallel to the long seed in the center. Cut up into cubes.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 1 cup boiling water
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or malt vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (remember that it’s easy to peel with the edge of a teaspoon)
- 1 fresh green Thai, serrano, or small jalapeno chili, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped (only have tried the jalapeno so far. The others should impart their own distinct but subtle changes to the flavors)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 8 cups of mesclun or mixed baby salad greens
- 1 large, ripe but firm mango cubed
- 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
Directions
- Pour the boiling water over the raisins in a small bowl. Let them soak for about 30 minutes to soften then drain and transfer to a blender.
- Add the remaining dressing ingredients and purée until smooth.
- Reserve 1 tablespoon of the dressing and toss gently with the mango and red pepper.
- Dress the greens with the rest.
- Top the greens with the mango and bell pepper and serve.
Nutrition information (per serving)
- Calories: 117
- Total fat: 7 g
- Saturated fat: 1 g
- Trans fat: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 0 g
- Sodium: 58 mg
- Total carbohydrate: 14 g
- Dietary fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 1 g