About a month ago, at Detroit's Eastern Market, There were cases for $5! I had to take them! Fortunately, my brother, sister-in-law and two mango loving nieces were staying with us for a few weeks, because, no matter how much I and my daughter love them, I don't think we could have gone through the entire case before they went bad. Fortunately, we didn't have to do it alone!
While we had them I started incorporating mangoes into everything! Here's one of the results we all loved, including my non-mango loving husband and son. I had fresh mint and some fresh basil from the market as well and incorporated both.
My daughter, one niece and my Sister-in-law are all Lactose Intolerant and another niece has Celiac Disease, so anything cooked had to be both lactose and gluten free. While at times this was challenging, this particular dish was easy. The following recipe is both dairy and gluten free, unless you add the grated Parmesan cheese, which those of us without lactose issues did.
Mango-Lemon-Mint Chicken Salad with Mango-Lemon-Mint Dressing
Total Ingredients List
4 - 6 Organic Chicken Breasts
4 Mangos
2 jalapeno's
Bunch of washed & dried Mint Leaves
Handful of Basil Leaves, washed & dried
Lettuce & Spinach Mixture - for salad, as desired
Cucumbers, peeled (if desired), sliced & halved
Toasted pecans
Fresh Blueberries (or dried fruit, whatever you want!)
Dry White Wine
Fresh Grated Parmesan (for those who are not Lactose Intolerant!)
Mango Mint Chicken
Mango Mint Basil Dressing
Cayenne Pepper
Sea or Kosher Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper, to taste
First, the chicken. I marinated organic chicken breasts in the following mixture:
Mango Chicken
4 Mangoes, peeled and in large chunks
A handful of washed & dried mint leaves
Some Fresh Basil Leaves (about 6 large)
3/4 cup fresh Lemon Juice
1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 jalapeno pepper, de-seeded
1 pinch cayenne pepper
Sea Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper to Taste
Put 2 of the mangoes, the mint leaves, the basil leaves, lemon juice and jalapeno into a blender or food grinder. Mix it up until it's liquid. Add the Olive Oil and the cayenne.
When it's totally blended, add a good pinch of salt and some pepper. Taste it, and if you need more, add it.
After rinsing & drying, put the chicken into a semi-shallow container and pour the entire mixture over it, turning it several times to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let it marinate as long as you have, I gave it about 5 hours, turning it every hour.
To make the dressing, it's pretty similar, you can make it ahead and put it in the fridge until shortly before you are ready to eat.
Mango Mint Dressing
1 Mango, peeled & cut into chunks
A small handful of mint leaves
4 or 5 Large Basil Leaves
1/2 cup Lemon Juice
1/2 cup White Wine Vinegar
1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded
1 Pinch Cayenne Pepper - to taste
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Throw everything in the blender or food processor and blend until liquid. If you need more liquid, add more white wine vinegar.
To cook the chicken, heat a non-stick pan (I prefer cast iron, properly seasoned) to medium high and add olive oil. When oil is hot, add the chicken and sear on both sides. Lower the heat, add the rest of the marinade and simmer, about 10 minutes, turning once half way through. When chicken is done (use a thermometer if you can't tell), remove to a plate and turn up the heat to medium high again to concentrate the marinade liquid for about five minutes or so, stirring constantly. When thick, pour into a small bowl, turn it down again and use the white wine to deglaze the pan. Then whisk the wine liquid into the concentrated marinade. Pour it over the cooked chicken and let it sit while you assemble the salads.
Salad greens, mango chunks (the final mango), toasted pecans, cucumbers & blueberries. Parmesan for those who take cheese. Top with the chicken and serve with the mango dressing; add croutons if desired.
We used up mangoes, everyone loved the chicken and the dressing, so all in all, this one was a notch in the "win" column!
*Sorry I'm a crap photographer!
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