This is more alchemy than recipe. I wanted to do something different with a load of mangoes that I’d ripened in a brown paper bag.

I love mangoes and when I saw them in City Market for $1 each, I bought a tray-load. They were as hard as cannonballs.

Beautifully ripe a few days later and rather than the usual sliced mango over granola with yogurt for breakfast, I sprinkled the cut flesh with a little sugar and stuck them under the broiler/grill.

They turned out so well that I had to share this. You definitely need ripe mangoes – one of them wasn’t fully ripened and it stayed that way. A ripe mango will be transformed into a hot, fragrant caramelized mango pudding, it’s golden flesh easily scooped out with a spoon.

I like to eat them on their own but the scooped-out flesh served over vanilla ice cream would be wonderful.

Note: for ripening mangoes, tomatoes and stone fruits, a strong brown paper bag is ideal. Don’t pack them too tightly; allow some air to circulate then fold the paper over at the top and loosely seal the bag with a clip. Check every day for ripeness, as some ripen more quickly than others.

GRILLED MANGO

Ingredients:

1 ripe mango per person

Sugar or vanilla sugar

Action:

Get the broiler/grill hot and set the grill rack 8-9 inches / 22cm from the heat source.

Line a shallow baking tray with foil.

Slice the mangoes into three; two straight cuts lengthways either side of the stone in the middle. You won’t be using the middle bit so chew off any mango flesh around the stone before anyone else does!

Place them close together cut side up on the baking tray and sprinkle about ½ teaspoon of sugar onto each mango.

Grill for about 6-8 minutes or until the sugar is bubbly and caramelized.

I’d wait a few minutes before eating them as they’re scalding hot.