Mango Salsa
with red bell pepper and onions
15 min|Easy|Mild and Fruity
This super fresh, colorful salsa is a great make-ahead salad that pairs well with grilled fish, pork, or served as an appetizer with pita bread (it even tastes great on a hot dog… just sayin').
This is another one of those recipes that is really forgiving when it comes to quantities, a little more of this, a little less of that… it's pretty much whatever you like more or less of. If you're not a fan of Cilantro something like fresh parsley would work just as well. The small amount of diced greens are there for color and to add a garden-like quality to the mix.
You may have noticed we added a little triple-sec to the salad, just to get an orange kick in there, but if you have a fresh orange around, a tablespoon or two of that would work well too. Be careful not to add too much juice though, there's not really anything here that will absorb excess liquid.
This is another one of those recipes that is really forgiving when it comes to quantities, a little more of this, a little less of that… it's pretty much whatever you like more or less of. If you're not a fan of Cilantro something like fresh parsley would work just as well. The small amount of diced greens are there for color and to add a garden-like quality to the mix.
You may have noticed we added a little triple-sec to the salad, just to get an orange kick in there, but if you have a fresh orange around, a tablespoon or two of that would work well too. Be careful not to add too much juice though, there's not really anything here that will absorb excess liquid.
Ingredients
- 1 1⁄2 cup diced mango (one really large mango, or 2 smaller ones)
- 3⁄4 cup diced red bell pepper (about one pepper)
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
- 2 or 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (the juice from one lime)
- 1 tablespoon of orange liquor (we used Cointreau, a French triple-sec)
- 1⁄8 teaspoon sea salt (to taste)
Step by Step Instructions
1
Raw Ingredients
Here's all the raw ingredients we'll need to make four servings of the Mango Salsa (except for the triple-sec, that evaporates pretty fast).
2
Peel the Mango
I'm sure you've seen that cool porcupine cutting technique for mangos,
but that doesn't really work if you need a small dice on your mango.
Start by peeling off all the mango skin with a vegetable peeler (just
like a potato). Once that's done, cut a small portion of the bottom off,
so it will stand up on it's own (this is for leverage when making the
next cut).
3
Slice Medallions
There's a hard relatively large pit in the middle of the mango that you just can't cut through… the "cheek" or the long side of the mango is where you can slice off two or three 1/4 inch medallions, without hitting the pit.
4
Rotate and Repeat
Rotate the mango and cut two or three more slices off the opposite end.
5
Trim the Short Side
You can cut some additional fruit off the short side of the mango, but it will be more like a wedge, and not a full medallion. You'll start to feel the pit if you cut too close to the center. Rotate the mango, and trim off another wedge from the other side.
6
Slice Long Strips
Once you've got all the fruit cut away from the pit, it's easy to dice the mango into very small pieces.
7
Small Diced Cubes
This technique produces a dice that's 2 or 3 times smaller than the porcupine method, which is perfect for salsas and chutneys.
8
Dice Other Veggies
After the mango is taken care of, it's just a matter of chopping up all the other veggies and getting the juice out of one lime!
9
Mise en Place
Here's everything "mise en place" (a French culinary phrase for "everything in its place"). Preparing and measuring all the ingredients is a great way to organize any cooking activity.
10
Lightly Mix Ingredients
Pour all the ingredients into a prep bowl (or even the final serving bowl) and give everything a quick toss with a spoon.
Additional Notes
We paired our Mango Salsa with Pita Bread for the photos, but if the dice is small enough on this amazing fresh salsa — it makes for a great "topping" on main entrée items as well.
The mango and lime bring a natural sweetness (without being too sweet) and act as a cold smooth component when paired with something like a crispy blackened white fish or pork.
We even like it as a "relish" on top of hot dogs!
The mango and lime bring a natural sweetness (without being too sweet) and act as a cold smooth component when paired with something like a crispy blackened white fish or pork.
We even like it as a "relish" on top of hot dogs!