Lettuce, mango and apple in cubes, with a vinaigrette blended from cilantro, lime and vinegar, and peanuts scattered over at the end.
Ripe but firm
The mango has to be sweet enough to be worth including and firm enough to hold a cube. A soft one turns to purée the moment you turn the bowl over, and the salad becomes something else.
Press near the stem: it should give slightly, the way a ripe avocado does, and no more. Under-ripe mango is fibrous and sour, and no dressing fixes that.
The vinaigrette emulsifies
Blend the lime juice, vinegar and cilantro first, then add the sugar, salt and oil and blend again. The second blending is what turns two separated liquids into a dressing that clings.
It makes more than this salad needs, deliberately. It keeps a week in the fridge, separates as it sits, and comes back together with a shake.
Peanuts last, dressing later
Both for the same reason: everything in this salad loses its texture on contact with acid and oil.
- Lettuce collapses within twenty minutes of being dressed.
- Peanuts go soft almost as fast, which is why they are scattered over at the table rather than mixed in.
- Apple browns, though the lime in the dressing slows it.
Chop everything ahead if you want. Dress it in front of the people eating it.
Sweet and savoury
Fruit in a savoury salad is normal in Colombian cooking rather than a modern flourish. Mango turns up green and salted from street carts, in ceviche, and in salads like this one, and the combination of sweet fruit with sharp dressing is a familiar one there.
More salads
- Avocado salad — with corn and cherry tomatoes.
- Fruit salad — the sweet version.
- Mango juice — for the rest of them.
- Beet and carrot salad — grated and pink.
Mango Salad FAQ
Ripe but firm: it should give slightly when pressed near the stem and no more. Soft mango turns to purée when you toss the salad, and under-ripe mango is fibrous and sour.
Chop everything ahead and keep it in the fridge, but dress it at the table. Lettuce collapses within twenty minutes of meeting an acidic dressing and the peanuts go soft almost as quickly.
The first blending breaks down the cilantro into the acid. The second, after the oil goes in, emulsifies it, which is what makes a dressing that clings to the leaves rather than pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
No, and it has been corrected to 10 g. A hundred grams is three or four large bunches, which in a quarter cup of lime juice makes a thick green paste rather than a vinaigrette.
About a week in the fridge. It separates as it stands, which is normal for a vinaigrette, and a shake brings it back together.
📖 Recipe
Mango and Apple Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette
Imprimir Pin ComentarIngredients
- 300 g lettuce
- 1 large ripe mango (ripe but firm: soft mango falls apart when cubed)
- 1 red apple (leave the skin on for colour)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Peanuts (a handful, scattered over at the end)
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 10 g cilantro, chopped (a small bunch; see the note on quantities)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¾ cup olive oil (makes more vinaigrette than the salad needs, deliberately)
Notas
Instructions
- Chop the lettuce, cut the mango and the apple into cubes, and mix them in a bowl.
- For the vinaigrette, blend the lemon juice, the vinegar and the cilantro until smooth. Then add the sugar, the salt and the olive oil and blend again until it emulsifies.
- Once everything is chopped and mixed, pour the vinaigrette over the salad and turn it over.
- Scatter a handful of peanuts over the top just before serving.
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