Mango Tango

I lovvvvve mango. It’s a sweet, solid, tropical fruit. But like tango is the forbidden dance, mango is the forbidden fruit (to me). It is a pain to work with. You have to peel it like a potato, then slice it verrry carefully to avoid the pit in the middle. It’s oh-so-worth it though.

This fresh, summery salsa is perfect for an alternative to tomato salsa. I made this for my Dad’s 70th birthday party, and put a spoonful into little tortilla cups and served it on a tray.

Make ahead of time, but drain the excess juice out before serving. Since I’m an inexperienced chopper and wanted to keep all my fingers, I gave myself plenty of time to chop all the ingredients. Like hours. I had to take a lunch rest break.

The seasoning is the only tricky part, it depends on the sweetness and ripeness of all the ingredients. I learned this the hard way – you can always add seasonings, but you can never take away. The cayenne pepper adds a kick – HIYA! You don’t want this to taste like a fruit salad, so add salt to balance it out. Also place the cilantro in sparingly, because this little leaf goes a lonnng way.

Pineapple Mango Salsa

• 1 cup chopped peeled mango
• 1 cup pineapple tidbits
• 1/2 cup diced sweet red pepper
• 1 plum tomato, seeded and chopped
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• Tortilla chips

Note: I substituted cayenne pepper for the jalapeno pepper; and red onions for the green onions.

Special thanks to two Angry Asians for help with the photo (Jennifer Lim and Lan Pham).