Ginger Mango Salsa

I created this recipe in April 2007 when my husband and I were given a week on my boss's 91' yacht, The KelDi, which we took from Miami to Key Largo, then to Key West. It's a beautiful boat with a terrific crew, including a great chef, Sean. My husband and I being the only passengers besides the crew, insisted that the crew eat with us each night. On the last night, Sean let me cook with him, which was a thrill for me. We joined our ideas and I came up with this salsa which I also served alongside a regular pico de gallo salsa for a "East Meets Mex" theme. Sean grilled up a rib eye and we served the salsas and some jasmine rice to keep the theme going.

This salsa goes terrific with any grilled meat - and don't forget to try it on fish!

Another hint, I also made this salsa in April 2008 at my boss's house on Martha's Vineyard "Daybreak" where Jude and I cooked for our husbands, much like Sean and I did the year previously. On the island, Jude couldn't find jicima, so I substituted 1/4 cup diced green apple and found it actually works better than the jicima. Last month while visiting my sister-in-law and her husband, Sheila and Ronnie, in Williamsburg, Virginia, I learned that my sister-in-law is pre-diabetic. My brother-in-law from England, John, was also visiting and he is diabetic so I left the honey out of the recipe and discovered that the apple and the mango sweetened it enough. The honey enhances the ginger, but feel free to leave it out.

Ingredients:
2 Ripe Mangos, diced
¼ cup diced Red Onion
¼ cup diced Jicima (Can Substitute Green Apple)
1 diced Green Jalepeno Pepper, seeded (can substitute 1/8 cup minced canned Jalepenos)
1 cup minced Cilantro (leaves only)
¼ cup Fresh Lime Juice
½ tsp Honey
Salt and Pepper to taste

Core and dice the mango
Add to a large bowl
Dice Red Onion and add to the bowl
Dice the Jicima and add to the bowl

Cut the stem off the Jalepeno, and with a teaspoon, remove the seeds. Slince the Jalepeno into julienne pieces and dice. Add to the bowl.

Wash a bunch of Cilantro and remove the stems. Place on paper towels to dry. Remove the leaves from the remaining stems. Mince and add to the bowl.

Cut off any “fingers” on the Ginger. With your teaspoon, scrape off the skin of the Ginger. Grate the Ginger into a small bowl and pick out any long fibers. Add the Ginger to the large Bowl.

Cut a couple of limes into quarters.
Squeeze the juice into the large bowl. If the limes don’t exude much juice, place in microwave on a paper towel for about 30 seconds.

Add the honey, salt and pepper. Mix well. Cover and set aside for at least an hour for the juices to blend. Taste. Adjust honey, lime, salt and pepper as desired.


Serving suggestions:

Serve over grilled meat, fish; serve on top of chicken quesadillas triangles; marinate chicken or other meat in salsa. Or just enjoy with chips. I like to make a mango salsa then a pico de gallo and serve both side by side on grilled meat as an “East meets Mex” combination.

Update November 1:

I took this salsa and blended it. Then, using half the mixture (I doubled the recipe so I had plenty), I added about a 1/2 cup of orange juice and about 1 tablespoon of ground cumin. I used this as a marinade for a flank steak and 2 chicken breasts, which I marinaded for 24 hours before cooking them. The meat was delicious! I made them into quesidillas which I brought to work yesterday, and the girls loved it!

The second half of the blended salsa mixture, I added about 2 tablespoons of curry powder, and about 1 tablespoon of honey for a curry marinade, which I added half a beef tenderloin to. I am going to cook this as a curry today, so I will let you know how it comes out! Happy fall, and happy cooking! Tina