The best mangoes I ever ate grew on a tree in my garden in Florida but that was long ago and far away.

Fortunately, Mexican mangoes are plentiful (and enormous) right now and are just about as perfect and juicy as a mango can be, with their intoxicatingly-swoony perfume and deep orange flesh. There’s none of that immediate grabbing for dental floss to remove all the fibers wedged between your teeth that you get with lesser varieties – but you will have a big golden mustache like a slice of sunshine – and drippy hands.

That is if you eat them with your fingers, biting the flesh right off the stone.

I realize that for many people it’s the only way to eat them but unless you’re lounging on a beach or soaking in the bath tub, it isn’t very practical.

Being a lazy cook most of the time, I love to stumble across something wonderful that takes no more than 10 minutes to whip up. This simple recipe adds an unexpected and fragrant twist to fresh mango, infusing it with a combination of ginger and mint. Served over my favorite coconut milk ice cream in pretty glasses, it makes a luscious dessert and your guests won’t be making a mess all over themselves, unless your guests are the sort who are in the habit of doing that regardless; but not in my home!

Notes at the end:

FRESH MANGO with GINGER & MINT SYRUP and COCONUT ICE CREAM

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

2 big ripe mangoes

2 inches of peeled fresh ginger, sliced

1/3 cup of white sugar

1 cup of water

1/3 cup of mint leaves – packed

Action:

Combine the water, sugar and ginger in a heavy pan; bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and add the mint leaves. Allow to steep for 20 minutes.
Strain the syrup and chill in the fridge. It will keep covered for a few days.

To serve:

Prepare the mangoes by cutting each into three lengthways, so that the stone is contained in the middle slice. Carefully remove the skin from the stone section and slice the flesh off, capturing the juices.

For the two remaining sections; using the fine point of a sharp knife, carefully score the flesh in a crisscross fashion being careful not to cut through the outer skin. Invert the mango, pushing the cut flesh outwards then slice off the ready made chunks.

Serve in individual dishes on its own, or over coconut or vanilla ice cream; drizzle with the chilled ginger mint syrup and decorate with a mint leaf or two.

Notes:

I like to serve this in very cold martini glasses.

In my opinion, the best-tasting, creamiest, most addictive dairy free ice cream is made by ‘So Delicious’; it contains 100% organic coconut milk and comes in assorted flavors. I suggest the vanilla or coconut for this recipe and the chocolate is also wonderful… eaten straight from the tub with a spoon. The ‘So Delicious’ range of products is available in most supermarkets.