simply roasted mango
I grew up eating Indian mangoes which my grandfather carefully sourced, and I am now spoiled for eating any other kind of mango any other way. Unfortunately, the kind we find in our supermarkets year-round doesn’t even come close to satisfying that craving. Luckily for me, the good mangoes are available for a good month or so per year, so I am (for the most part) satiated. What follows is honestly the only use I’ve ever found for run-of-the-mill year-round grocery store mango (especially when it’s a little underripe). Roasting bad mango does not make it taste like a good mango, but it does make it a great low-stress dessert under some vanilla ice cream.
simply roasted mango
1-2 regular-ass mangoes (either the green and red kind or the small yellow kind)
3-4 tablespoons granulated or Demerara sugar
1 lime, cut in wedges, for juicing
Good vanilla ice cream, for serving
Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut each mango into spears, leaving the skin on. (Do this by cutting on each side of the large pit in the center, then cutting each wide piece into thirds, leaving the short pieces as they are).
Place the mango skin-side down on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with the sugar, plus flaky salt. Roast the mango for 15-20 minutes, until it’s very well browned, and the sugar has caramelized a little on the outside. Directly out of the oven, squeeze the lime juice over it.
To serve, place a slice or two of the mango (don’t worry about peeling it, I find it easier to discard the peels post-eating) in a small bowl and top with vanilla ice cream and more flaky salt.
Level-ups: toss the mango in some olive oil pre-roasting, add some whole spices (such as cardamom, cloves, or star anise) or herbs (such as thyme or rosemary) around the mango as it roasts.
Ta-ta for now,
Nicki (from my teeny tiny kitchen)