During mango season I try and use mangoes in as many dishes as I can. Here is a new recipe that I use as a pre-dessert. A pre-dessert is a small course that is served between the savoury main and the sweet courses. The purpose of this curse is to get both your palate and your brain to start thinking and adapting to taste sweet. the pre-dessert is a combination of sweet and spice or salty. The slow transition to the sweet courses allows the diners to start thinking of sugar. In addition, sweet stimulates hunger, so the guests who have had a large multi-course meal can now indulge more.
The small serving is lovely, sweet from the mangoes and the light hint of chilli from the Aleppo pepper flakes. The combination of sweet, sour, salt and space is perfect. I generally only serve 2-4 tablespoons of this course so it serves its purpose of changing the palate and stimulating more hunger. I used Aleppo chilli flakes in this instance as this was a Middle eastern themed dinner. You can use any chilli flakes of your choice including some of the wonderful smoked paprika and Mexican chillies.
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Ingredients:
6 mangoes
1 lime
15-20 mint leaves, roughly torn
Aleppo chilli flakes
Large grain sea salt
Slice the mangoes on each side into large half circles. Set the seeds and side pieces aside for consumption separately. Using a paring knife make hash cuts on each mango slice taking care to keep the cup whole. Using a spoon gently scoop out the mango pieces and collect them in a bowl. set the mango cups separately to be used later.
Squeeze the lime juice into the mango and add the mint. Mix in well. Chill in the fridge.
To serve, lay out a mango cup and scoop some of the marinated mango pieces into the cup. Top with a light sprinkling of Aleppo pepper flakes and sea salt. Serve chilled.
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