members recipes

Warmer days have arrived in Munich, and as you can tell from my last few posts, it\\\'s salad time. I make a bee-line for the produce section to find the most abundant items. This past week or so, mangos have been a measly 99 cents each. They are beautiful and sweet ... yes, mangos make me happy. You should choose mangos not by the color of the skin, but by aroma. Find the root end (with the little nib) and take a whiff. It should smell sweet and fruity. Close your eyes and inhale, and if you start drooling from the smell of mango, then it is ripe. If it smells like nothing, it\\\'s a reject. Once you\\\'ve got your mango home, after you pat it and admire it and smell it some more, you have to prep it. First, peel the skin off with a peeler...don\\\'t use a knife because you will lose too much fruit...and I\\\'ll freak out while I watch you and wait for you to slip and cut yourself. Those buggers can be really slippery. Next, cut a piece off of the base (the larger end) so that the mango sits flat on your cutting board. With a sharp knife, start from the top and cut downward, following the shape of the pit. If you don\\\'t know about mango pits, they are oval are oval and flattish. It is best to cut the fruit away from it on either large side first, and then cut thin slices from the smaller sides. Now that you\\\'ve done the hard work, take the pit and happily gnaw away all the leftover mango while nobody is looking. Wash your face and hands, and then prepare this simple, fresh salad.

Ingredients
1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into chunks;
1 small cucumber; very thinly slices;
1 small plum tomato, diced;
a handful of mint, chopped;
a handful of basil, julienned;
2 green onions/scallions/spring onions, sliced;
1 teaspoon very good olive oil (optional);
1 - 2 limes (depends on size and your taste);
sea salt and pepper, to taste.

Method
Combine the mango, cucumber, tomato, onions, and herbs. Squeeze over lime to taste and add olive oil, if using. Season with sea salt and pepper. Toss gently.

Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Toss again before serving.