Wow your taste buds Avocado, Mango and Shrimp salad or dip.
One of my July 2013 recipes for National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, now Beyond Celiac.
We're finally getting summer in NH, even reaching the 90+ degrees heat that many of you experience all the time. It's fine cooking meat on the grill and even some vegetables, but you still need salads, dips etc that have to be prepared in the kitchen without extra heat. I absolutely love mangoes and use them in lots of recipes, both sweet and savory and sweet ripe ones are in the store now as well as avocadoes.
I like a slight bite of heat, but don't like the rawness of jalapeñoes so I use a hot pepper jelly to give both heat and sweetness. Check that brand you use is gluten free, plus it must be HOT pepper jelly, sweet pepper jelly just gives sweetness. I don't like raw onions so I only use white or green of green onions. My husband really doesn't care for cilantro so I leave that on the side for those of us who like cilantro. This is also good using fresh, sweet pineapple, either mixed with mango or instead of mango.
Just shrimp and mango salad I did for a Bridal Shower - shot glasses from Christmas Tree Shop, swan and forks from fancy kitchen store in Portsmouth NH. Pink martini glass, present from friends in France.
1 ripe, sweet mango (you can use 2 mangoes plus pineapple if you want)
about 3/4 – 1 lb fresh, sweet pineapple with skin attached, prepared.( I buy 4 half slices of Dole Golden pineapple and removed skin etc). or fresh, sweet, ripe nectarines, strawberries, grapes, melon.
juice and rind of half a lime (increase to one lime for extra tangy – your choice)
green of 2 green onions (aka spring onions or scallions), trimmed and thinly sliced
1 tbsp (15 ml) hot pepper jelly - I buy Trappist brand, not labeled gluten free, but other friends with celiac disease eat it as well. $3 for 12 oz jar in my local Market Basket.
2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil, not extra virgin as too strong, Full Sun Sunflower oil or Avocado oil.
1 large, ripe but firm avocado, prepared
½ lb (225g) cooked, salad shrimp - taste if you can before you buy, some are far too cardboardy.
2 tbsp (30ml) chopped fresh cilantro - optional
pinch of salt
Add oregano, lemon thyme, basil for different flavors. I have so many fresh herbs growing that I am constantly adding them to different dishes.
1. To prepare the mango. Ignore instructions that tell you to peel a mango before slicing. That is a very sticky, slippery job. Stand the mango upright with the pointed end up, slice down either side of the flat inner stone to get two pieces like small shoulder pads. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut through the flesh to the skin in a ‘tic tac toe’ pattern. Press the middle of the skin one direction while pushing the edges in the opposite direction.(turning inside out). This makes the mango pieces stand individually upright so you can cut them off the skin with a sharp knife or scoop them with a spoon. Return to the semi-peeled mango and follow the curve of the stone to cut off the remaining skin/flesh in 2 pieces. Cut these pieces away from skin.
2. Pineapple: I buy the semi circular pieces of fresh golden pineapple. Cut off the skin, remove core and any bits of ‘eyes’ still left in flesh. Normally the pineapple needs to be cut in half through the length of the slice, then cut into small pieces.
3. Put pepper jelly in 3-4 cup mixing bowl and microwave for 10-20 seconds just to melt jelly. Add lime juice, lime rind, cilantro if using, olive oil, onions and salt. Mix well. Stir in shrimp.
4. Stir in mango and pineapple. Taste now if you want but in only one hour the salsa will blend and mellow to a very different flavor with no ‘raw’ taste.
5. Prepare and add avocado just prior to serving as it will darken. Half the avocado and remove the stone. Cut down through the flesh to the skin in slices. Then cut crosswise to make ‘tic tac toe’ i.e. small dice. Insert a serving spoon between skin and flesh and ease out the cubes of avocado. Add avocado to mango and shrimp.
Add more onions or cilantro after the one hour if you want. This is great served on its own as a meal with lettuce, or used as a side dish with grilled salmon, tilapia etc. Serve in a bowl with tortilla chips.
