MMMMM...Mango

I can only assume it's because of Cinco de Mayo, but mangoes seems to be on sale all over. With most fruit still being on the expensive side, cheap mangoes stood out to me at the grocery store a couple weeks ago. I thought they'd make for a cheap side dish with dinner. Plus, in trying to incorporate more seafood in to our meals, shrimp tacos were on the horizon for dinner. Mr. C has fond memories of some shrimp tacos with mango salsa he had at a local restaurant. Since mangoes were cheap, I thought I could try and recreate what he'd had and not have it cost me too much if it was a miserable failure.

I've never made mango salsa before, so I needed a starting point. I found a recipe for pineapple salsa in a magazine and also did a couple searches on the internet. Most fruit salsas seem to have similar ingredients, so I grabbed my favorite knife and went to work.

Look what I came up with:

Isn't it pretty! I just love the colors and chunky texture.

We ate this salsa two ways--with chips and on our shrimp tacos. I absolutely loved it with chips--Mr. C, not so much. He does not share my deep love of onions. (I've often heard cooks say that red onions are more mild and sweet than yellow, but I must respectfully disagree. I think they are exactly the opposite.) While I found the salsa to be a nice blend of flavors, all Mr. C could taste was onion. I said, "What about the sweetness of the mango or the crunch of the cucumbers?" All he would say is, "All I can taste is onions." I personally think it was a mental block created as soon as he tasted his first onion. He loved it on the tacos though. For some reason, as a part of the whole cabbage/shrimp/taco combo, the salsa was perfect for him.

Since Mr. C didn't love it on chips, there was plenty left for me to have for lunch the next day. Delicioso!

Mango Salsa
2 large mangoes, chopped
1 c cucumber, seeded and chopped
2-3 T lime juice (I used fresh squeezed)
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
3 chopped and seeded jalapeno peppers
1 t minced garlic
1 t sugar
chopped cilantro
1/4-1/2 t salt (start small and add more to taste)
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Serve chilled or room temperature.

I know what you're thinking, "3 jalapeno peppers!" Don't worry, as long as you take the seeds and veins out, you won't scorch your mouth. They add a nice amount of flavor without a lot of heat. (Try not to splash yourself with jalapeno juice, twice, like I did.) At first I only chopped up one, but I couldn't taste the peppers enough so I added more. The cucumbers provide a nice cool compliment to the peppers. And, if you're wondering why I don't have a measurement on the cilantro it's because I sadly found mine to be all slimy when I opened up my vegetable crisper. It was rotten and I had to throw it away. I hate that! (This is just one of the reasons I want to plant my own herb garden!) I wasn't able to add it this time, but next time I will for sure. I'll probably add a couple chopped tablespoons and adjust from there.

I bet this would be yummy on lovely piece of fish too. Tilapia fillets, here I come!