Featured, Kitchen

Summer Mango Salads!

June 24, 2021


A Crespo Organic Kitchen Cooking Class

Class Description: Learn to make three mango-centric summer salads that will wow everyone this season and beyond. You’ll get refreshed with our everyday mango education, learning about how the Tommy Atkins varietal’s and its firmer flesh works wonderfully for salads. We will teach several different ways to cut mangoes and prepare three amazing seasonal, inexpensive summer salads that can feed a hungry and even fancy crowd. You’ll walk away better equipped to optimize not just mangoes but vegetables, fruits, vinegars and citrus juices, keeping salads fresh, light and healthy!

Recipes to be Made: Mango Red Cabbage Bean Salad with Spicy Lime Vinaigrette; Thai Noodle Salad with Avocado & Mango; Fresh Mint Mango & Melon “Salad” with Thai Basil Chili-Lime Honey Drizzle

Date: Saturday, July 10th
Time: 4:00 PM CST
Location: VIRTUAL! Watch on Instagram live or follow along on Zoom!

Details:
Participate Via Zoom
Meeting ID: 861 8164 0858
Passcode: MangoMania

Watch Live on Instagram @CrespoOrganic

Notes: There is some prep work needed for this class so check out the PRE-CLASS NEEDS Photo on this post for all the details plus the full ingredient list you will need!

Recipes for the Class

Mango Red Cabbage Bean Salad with Spicy Lime Vinaigrette
Serves 6-8

Bean salads make a healthy and filling summer meal. They are packed with protein, can be served cold and withstand sitting out at the BBQ. This one is super quick to toss together and laden with healthy vegetables and tasty mangoes. A spicy -enough for all, but not too spicy- vinaigrette tops it off. This is the dish you will want to bring to the BBQ all summer, trust us.

And trust us you also want to use good beans, they are more tender and taste better. Rancho Gordo is our pick.

Use Tommy Atkins mangoes if you can, their firmer flesh stands up in this hearty salad.

Ingredients

1 pound of white beans
3 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup champagne vinegar (O brand with citrus is perfect)
2 cups baby spinach leaves
2 cups shredded red cabbage
½ cup chopped bell peppers, red, yellow, orange or a combination of
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
½ cup chopped cilantro leaves
2 ripe mangoes, cubed small
1/4 cup olive oil ( use a good quality olive oil)
Juice of 2 limes
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Cook the beans per the instructions on the bean package. Make sure you do not overcook the, we don’t want them to soft. They should be firm on the outside, soft inside. We like to add the salt at the end of cooking beans, during the last 30-40 minutes of cooking.

Once the beans are cooked. Strain the water out of the beans and put them in a large flattish bowl, douse them with the vinegar and let them come to room temperature.

Toss in the spinach, cabbage, peppers and cilantro leaves and mix up. Add the mangoes and gently mix up again. Drizzle the oil and lime juice over the top and sprinkle the spice over it all. Gently mix together and refrigerate for about 30 minutes before serving.

Thai Noodle Salad with Tropical Avocado and Mango
Serves 6-8

This could be the most decadent, fresh-tasting salad you will ever have. It’s relatively easy to make and reaps healthy and tasty rewards. Fresh raw vegetables are paired with slurpy noodles and herbaceous fresh flavors, drenched in a tangy Thai-inspired sauce. Avocadoes and mangoes balance out the potent flavor with nutty and sweet notes. It’s a dish that’s cooling and satisfying during sweltering hot summer nights.

Ingredients

For the dressing
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons spicy red chili paste
¼ cup peanut oil or extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy or tamari sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar

For the Salad
1 package (14 ounces) gluten free Pad Thai-style rice noodles
1 tablespoon sesame oil
¾ cup sliced thin rounds of English or Persian cucumbers
½ cup chopped small red bell peppers
½ cup shredded carrot
4 green onions, sliced very thin in rounds
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 large ripe mango, cubed bite-size (about 1- 1 ½ cups)
1 medium avocado, cubed bite-size (about 2 cups)
¼ cup mint leaves, roughly chopped
½ cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
¼ cup torn basil leaves (green, purple or Thai variety)
¼ cup chopped, salted roasted peanuts, plus 1 tablespoon reserved for garnish
Lime wedges

Directions

Whisk all of the salad dressing ingredients in a small bowl until totally combined. Alternatively, shake them up in a Mason jar.

Cook the noodles per the directions on the package, making sure to cook them only to al dente. After the noodles are cooked, rinse them with cold water to ensure the noodles stop cooking and strain. Once they are full strained, toss them together with the sesame oil in a large mixing bowl.

Add the cucumbers, red peppers, carrot, green onions, cabbage and cherry tomatoes to the bowl with the noodles. Gently fold in the mango, avocado and herbs. Toss with the dressing and refrigerate for about 20 minutes before serving.

Serve the noodle salad garnished with roasted peanuts and lime wedges.

Fresh Mint Mango & Melon “Salad” with Thai Basil Chili-Lime Honey Drizzle
Serves 6

Fresh fruit, flavored with honey, herbs and chilies is one of the most refreshing salads for the most intensely hot summer days. All over the world people eat mangoes in part to quell themselves form intense heat. This one seems unexpected, but its truly the most refreshing thing ever. And most of all its easy to whip together on the fly. A pretty finishing salt from My Herbal-Roots is the perfect topper.

Make sure your melons are super cold!

Ingredients

½ medium cantaloupe, seeded, sliced and peeled
½ medium honeydew melon, seeded, sliced and peeled
2 mangoes, halved and sliced into wedges
Handful of thai basil leaves, chopped
1 serrano chili, seeded and chopped fine
1 teaspoon lime zest
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons very hot water
½ teaspoon Chili Mint Finishing Salt from My Herbal-Roots or regular Maldon salt

Directions

Arrange the fruit on a platter and toss the basil over the top. Whisk together the lime zest and juice, honey and hot water and drizzle it over the top.

Chili Mint Finishing Salt
Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

½ cup super-finely chopped mint leaves
2 tablespoons super finely chopped parsley leaves
4 -5 nasturtium flowers, chopped fine
2-3 coriander flowers, chopped fine
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 red chili pepper, deseeded and chopped super fine
1 green chili pepper, desseded and chopped super fine
1 ½ cups Maldon flake salt

Directions

Pre Heat oven to 225 degrees F.
In a medium mixing bowl, mix together all of the fresh herbs, zest and flowers. Gently fold in the salt and using your fingers, make sure the herbs and the salt is mixed well. Place the salt/herb mix on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper so that its spread out evenly across the entire sheet and flat. Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the herbs and chilies seem to have a lot less moisture. Store in a small bowl on your counter for a few weeks.

This class will be taught by:
Nissa Pierson is a noted herb expert and founder of Ger-Nis Culinary & Herb Center. A cooking instructor, food writer and recipe developer with over 25 years’ experience, Nissa travels the globe in search of food and cultural knowledge while working with small growers in her produce consultancy business. She specializes in sustainable, organic, fair trade and local agriculture. She writes about fresh herbs on her blog MyHerbalRoots.com and educates consumers about organic mangoes. Find her UnderTheMangoTree.CrespoOrganic.com

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