Recipe- Summer Chilangoes

Today's recipe is from Ashley of Uncommon Threads. It's perfect for this time of year!

Summer Chilangoes

Before moving to Italy, I lived in Brooklyn and worked as an assistant canvass director for a non-profit in Manhattan. Canvassing in the summer, though altruistic and morally fulfilling, can be tough at times, especially when the temperatures start-a-risin’. One of my favorite “rewards” for a hard day of canvassing in the summer sun was when we happened to have a mango cart near us. These ladies are elusive, but when they do happen to pop up, I’m telling’ ya…it makes my day. They sell mangoes on a stick, sliced to look all pretty like flowers, either plain, or the “spiced” variety. We came up with the name “Chilangoes” because it just sounds so appropriate for these AMAZING summer treats! The best part is, you can make them up individually, or set up a fresh mango stand, much like your thriving lemonade business from when you were a kid!

Ingredients:

Fresh mangoes, ripe, but still somewhat firm
Lime juice
Sea salt
Chili powder
Heavy duty popsicle sticks or 3/8” dowels, cut into 6 inch pieces, lightly sanded and washed. In a pinch, you can use metal skewers or fondue sticks.

Carefully, peel the mango skin off the fruit, using a very sharp knife or vegetable peeler. I find that, depending on the ripeness of the mangoes, it’s sometimes easier to insert your “stick” first. Once the mango is peeled, make 4 or 5 medium slices from the top of the fruit almost all the way to the bottom (make sure you don’t slice all the way through!). Once you have gone all the way around your mango, make another row of slices, this time staggering them in between the previous slices. Continue cutting your mango in this manner until you reach the pit. Count your fingers to make sure you didn’t slice any off, by accident.

If you haven’t inserted your “stick,” yet, do it now. On each mango, sprinkle the lime juice, and a pinch each of sea salt and chili powder, making sure you get some on all the “petals” of your mango flower.

Chow down!