Mangos

(More recent (April 2010) posting on mangos here)

A good mango is hard to find. The large green-red mangos in our
supermarkets all year round are pale shadows of what this glorious
fruit can taste like when ripe and in season.

The new season mangos are arriving ripe by airplane on a daily basis
to provide our ethnic communities with a little taste of home (hang
the air miles, a little ozone depletion is worth it for a taste this
good). Look for small yellow varieties with slightly yielding flesh
and intoxicating perfume.

The Anwar Ratol variety is the best around at the moment, described as
“the king of mangos” by the shop I visited on Clanbrassil Street. A
box of 15 cost me 12 euro, a bargain given that this is the variety
gifted by Pakistan to visiting heads of state.

Ripe mangos do not need anything other than a sharp knife and a
willingness to get your hands messy but you can also serve with
savoury dishes or with curries or make them into delicious sorbet.

Mango Tart Tatin
This upside down tart is best made using a frying pan with a metal
handle that can be placed in the oven, or use a standard pie dish.

First make a caramel. Add 75g Sugar and 2tbs water to a heavy pan and
cook on high heat for around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until
brown flecks appear. Reduce the heat and cook until the sugar is
caramelized and is uniformly golden. Remove from the heat and stir in
25g of butter. If using a pie dish scrape the caramel into the dish
at this point.

Peel approximately 1kg of ripe mangos using a sharp potato peeler or
paring knife. Try to remove as little flesh as possible. Cut a thick
slice either side of the central stone and arrange in the pan or dish
on top of the caramel. Scrape all the remaining flesh from each stone
onto the dish. Dot the mango with 25g butter and bake in a hot oven
at Gas 6, 190oC for 20 minutes.

Roll out 200g of frozen puff pastry (or short crust) and place on top.
Bake for a further 25 minutes until the pastry has browned and risen.
Remove from the oven and place a large plate on top of the pan, with
one movement flip the pan over. Serve with lots of double cream or
crème fraiche.