This recipe does not sound like anything special, but it is one of those that is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.
I served this in a funky-looking martini glass as an appetizer to my book club along with the famous Chicken in the poblano cream sauce and the T&T Cilantro rice. Joe's Orange and Avocado salad rounded out the menu. I could have eaten the whole thing myself.
Mrs. Hyder's Mango Gazpacho
Use a blender rather than a food processor to puree the mangos into a creamy liquid. Salt balances the mango and brings out its flavor.
INGREDIENTS:
7 large or 9 smaller ripe Manila mangoes (see my note about using frozen mango slices)
About 3-4 cups ice water (amount of water depends on size of mangoes)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt or to taste, depending on mangoes' sweetness
1/2 tablespoon fine white pepper
1 small red onion, diced
1/2 cup sliced strawberries + 2 thinly sliced strawberries for garnish (if you cannot find sweet strawberries, omit from recipe)
1 1/2 cups diced English cucumber (with most of seeds scooped out)
1 bunch chives, snipped, 2 tablespoons set aside for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS:
To cut the mango off its pit, stand on larger end.
Slice down one side of the long pit and than slice down the other side of pit, being careful not to slice too close or you will just end up with more strings. Take a couple of skinny slices off the remaining sides.
Hold each mango side (still with skin) and make cross-hatch cuts into the fruit, cutting just to the skin. Bend back the skin and carefully cut off each square of the cross-hatching. As you cut off mango cubes, place into large blender jar. (Set aside 1 cup of cubes for garnish.)
Puree; drizzling in the water. Add equal parts water to equal parts mango. You'll have to do this in two batches.
Add the brown sugar, olive oil, rice vinegar, salt and white pepper to the last batch and then combine all of the pureed mango liquid in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
Stir the onion, strawberries, cucumber and chives into the mango mixture 15 minutes before serving.
Ladle into glass bowls and garnish each serving with a few cubes of mango, strawberry slices and some snipped chives.
Serves 6, generously
PER SERVING: 355 calories, 2 g protein, 51 g carbohydrate, 19 g fat (3 g saturated), 0 cholesterol, 762 mg sodium, 5 g fiber.
NOTE from Judy: Instead of fresh mangos, I used frozen mangos bought at Central Market (HEB brand). They were in a 14-oz bag, and I figured 4 bags would be about equal to 9 mangos. I defrosted them in the refridgerator. I think the frig defrosting had something to do with keeping a good texture to the mango pieces. The recipe says serves 6, but after serving 9 people with small servings, I had about 1/3 of the gazpacho left.
I served this in a funky-looking martini glass as an appetizer to my book club along with the famous Chicken in the poblano cream sauce and the T&T Cilantro rice. Joe's Orange and Avocado salad rounded out the menu. I could have eaten the whole thing myself.
Mrs. Hyder's Mango Gazpacho
Use a blender rather than a food processor to puree the mangos into a creamy liquid. Salt balances the mango and brings out its flavor.
INGREDIENTS:
7 large or 9 smaller ripe Manila mangoes (see my note about using frozen mango slices)
About 3-4 cups ice water (amount of water depends on size of mangoes)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt or to taste, depending on mangoes' sweetness
1/2 tablespoon fine white pepper
1 small red onion, diced
1/2 cup sliced strawberries + 2 thinly sliced strawberries for garnish (if you cannot find sweet strawberries, omit from recipe)
1 1/2 cups diced English cucumber (with most of seeds scooped out)
1 bunch chives, snipped, 2 tablespoons set aside for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS:
To cut the mango off its pit, stand on larger end.
Slice down one side of the long pit and than slice down the other side of pit, being careful not to slice too close or you will just end up with more strings. Take a couple of skinny slices off the remaining sides.
Hold each mango side (still with skin) and make cross-hatch cuts into the fruit, cutting just to the skin. Bend back the skin and carefully cut off each square of the cross-hatching. As you cut off mango cubes, place into large blender jar. (Set aside 1 cup of cubes for garnish.)
Puree; drizzling in the water. Add equal parts water to equal parts mango. You'll have to do this in two batches.
Add the brown sugar, olive oil, rice vinegar, salt and white pepper to the last batch and then combine all of the pureed mango liquid in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
Stir the onion, strawberries, cucumber and chives into the mango mixture 15 minutes before serving.
Ladle into glass bowls and garnish each serving with a few cubes of mango, strawberry slices and some snipped chives.
Serves 6, generously
PER SERVING: 355 calories, 2 g protein, 51 g carbohydrate, 19 g fat (3 g saturated), 0 cholesterol, 762 mg sodium, 5 g fiber.
NOTE from Judy: Instead of fresh mangos, I used frozen mangos bought at Central Market (HEB brand). They were in a 14-oz bag, and I figured 4 bags would be about equal to 9 mangos. I defrosted them in the refridgerator. I think the frig defrosting had something to do with keeping a good texture to the mango pieces. The recipe says serves 6, but after serving 9 people with small servings, I had about 1/3 of the gazpacho left.