stockpiling mangoes
Before I begin dreaming of Rhubarb and early Strawberries………
When you stroll along in the produce department of your grocery store you see a wide array of fruit offerings. At this time of year there are usually several varieties of apples, a handful of different pears, grapes, citrus, the requisite collection of berries from afar, etc. Then you’ll usually find a smaller area devoted to the tropical fruits. Typically, you’ll see pineapples most of the year. And then some of the more “exotic” fruits will be sandwiched in – kiwi, starfruit, among them. If you’re lucky you’ll spot a dragon fruit or passion fruit. In specialty or ethnic markets you’re likely to come upon a wider variety of exotic fruits (will write about in another post). Then in the height of Summer you see all of the gorgeous and coveted stone fruits. Again, if you are lucky, they are perfuming the air with all that speaks of that glorious time of year. Somehow however, the tropical collection gets short-shrift. It’s so easy to walk right by without a thought……… (As Vivian says in Pretty Woman, “Big, Big Mistake!”)
The other day I made a Pear and Rosewater Cake. Being that I am interested in experimenting with this back note in cakes with another fruit I turned to that lovely bowl of mangoes that I’ve had sitting on my kitchen counter, gradually coming to perfect ripeness. Today I’m making the next iteration of the cake with Rosewater.
When I mentioned this yesterday, I got a little pushback in the in-house comment gallery in the form of “Mom, nobody cooks mangoes!” I beg to differ. I found it curious that their realm of experience with this coveted tropical fruit was in its raw form only.
So, being that I have had a merry time this Winter searching for and enjoying raw mangoes myself and feel now like a little ambassador of sorts on behalf of expanding the known repertoire, at least in my family, I’ve decided to do a develop a little primer for the inexperienced. There is a lot of territory here.
Mangoes are delightful to eat raw, yes, they most certainly are. But, how much do we know about mangoes other than to select them from the breakfast buffet in hotels while on vacation in the warmer climes?
Here is some info on the nutrition and healthfulness of mangoes:
http://www.besthealthmag.ca/best-eats/nutrition/5-reasons-to-eat-more-tropical-fruit/
http://healthimpactnews.com/2013/17-reasons-why-you-need-a-mango-every-day/
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/275921.ph
I won’t try to recreate an encyclopedia here, I’d like to just focus for a minute on the mango’s benefits, wonderful flavor and a sampling of ways to go with it.
Without trying to in any way minimize the marvel that is mango, I’d like to say that it probably most reminds me of my all-time favorite Summertime fruit, the peach. Perhaps that’s why I am so enamored of it. I have been enjoying multitudes of mangoes this Winter and while doing so having a bit of a taste of Summer somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind.
There are so many ways to use mangoes in the kitchen and we need not be limited by our typical orientation here. I first was introduced to mango many years ago in the form of the famous Mango Chutney. I went through a big chutney phase years ago, making my own in the kitchen, mostly to adorn fish dishes and did some good experimentation. Then of course I went through the phase of having great fresh mango slices at breakfast on many Winter vacations – typically in Mexico.
As my interest in the fruit grew, I went looking for other ways to use the fruit to its greatest advantage in my home kitchen, looking at their great possibilities at every time in the day.
Mangoes are grown mostly in central and South America. They are also grown in some areas of Europe and Asia. The ones I found to be most plentiful this Winter were from Central and South America – typically Guatemala and Peru. When perfectly ripe they are luscious, fragrant and hard to get enough of. Being that they are so healthy for us, it’s great to know it is just fine to indulge often!
There is a lot of great information out there on mangoes. Here is just a tad along with a few recipes to consider.
Here is a good article from Martha Rose Shulman on the subject:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/25/health/nutrition/25recipehealth.html?_r=0
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013581-shrimp-and-mango-tacos
http://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/shrimp-and-mango-summer-rolls
Want a nice broad array of offerings? Look here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/03/mango-recipes-dessert_n_1432676.html
Anyway, this post comes around for two reasons. One is that after I made the Pear and Rosewater Cake earlier in the week, I wanted to try a different version with Mangoes. It seems to me that Rosewater is a good compliment to many fruit flavors and along with pears, mango seemed a good fit as well. Second, as I was discussing this topic with one of my children (ahem), I got that comment mentioned above. And so, in order to prove that person wrong (ahem), herewith The Mango and Rosewater Cake:
a trip to bountiful
THE MANGO AND ROSEWATER CAKE – adapted from maja’s kitchen.com and The Pear and Rosewater Cake – see Tuesday’s post
12 tblsp unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup vanilla sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp rosewater
zest of 2 small or 1 large lemon
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup whole milk
4-5 ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2″ slices – drizzled with lemon juice
Confectioner’s Sugar and Organic Rose Petals for dusting and decorating
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 9″ springform pan and set aside.
In the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy – about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well. Add the rosewater and lemon zest and beat in. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. With the mixer on low, add the flour alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with flour. Blend just until the flour disappears. Take the bowl off the mixer and finish blending with the rubber spatula. Add half of the batter to the prepared pan. Spread evenly with an offset spatula. Arrange half the mangoes in a circle as shown. Add the other half of the batter and spread evenly again. Add the remaining mangoes in a circle.
*I dusted this with a little muscavado sugar – it didn’t leave a crust as I was anticipating so, do the snow version
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and the center of the cake feels firm. Remove the cake from the oven and cool completely in pan. Remove the collar from the pan and dust with confectioner’s sugar if desired and decorate with organic rose petals.
Enjoy!
Calling for Snow? Yes, just a little dusting coming…….
So, next time you are in the grocery store, don’t overlook the tropical fruit section. You’re likely to come up with some very lovely, if not from afar delicious treats to work with. Often you can take a simple recipe and turn it into something uncommon and wonderful! Reach for a few mangoes – they will probably be hard and have little fragrance when you buy them. But a week or so on your counter and you’ll be rewarded with a juicy, wonderful, fleshy treat!