Prawn and Green Mango Salad

Here I am desperately clinging on to summer and what better way to defy the seasons than by enjoying the last of the harvest? Sadly, ripe mangos have again pretty much disappeared from the fruit shops but I was lucky enough to stumble upon some cooking mangos.

Filipinos have an affinity for green, sour, under-ripe but crunchy mangos. They are usually simply sliced, dipped in salt or bagoong (shrimp paste) and enjoyed with puckered lips. The more sour they are, the better. Little did I know, though, that Filipinos didn't have the monopoly on the pleasures of this masochistic snacking. Trying to introduce green mangos to an Indian friend a while back, she said 'Oh yeah, we love those back home dipped in salt and chili'. A Kenyan friend declared, 'Hmm, delicious with salt and sugar'.

These days, green mangos are available not only in the Asian shops but at most green grocers in Sydney. Then I came across this Thai recipe for enjoying them with prawns. Bingo! It could only be a winner...

Prawn and Green Mango Salad

300g cooked prawns (shelled, tail left on)

1 cup julienned cooking mangos (the flesh should still be firm and green or very pale yellow)

2 stalks spring onions, sliced

2 red birds-eye chillis, finely chopped

2 Tbs chopped coriander leaves

2 Tbsp chopped mint leaves

3 c salad greens

Dressing

1/4 c water

3 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp minced ginger

2 Tbsp fish sauce

juice from 1 lime

dash of sesame oil

To prepare the dressing, simmer the water, sugar and ginger on low heat until the sugar has melted. When the mixture has cooled down, add the fish sauce, lime juice and sesame oil.

Assemble the salad by mixing together the salad leaves, coriander, mint, spring onion and chillis. Top with the mangos and prawns. Drizzle the dressing over and enjoy!

Garlicky Tarragon Chicken Goujons

Let's not kid ourselves.. this is just chicken nuggets! Pardon my attempt at pretence, I only wanted to distance this from what everyone now accepts as chicken nuggets. Those 'gems' made of ground-up unnameable chicken parts and peppered with 'E' flavourings and preservatives have scarily become staple offerings as part of 'children's menus'. Why? It is so easy to batter up some real pieces of chicken and bake them in the oven, there's really no excuse to enjoy anything other than home-made chicken nuggets.

Here's my version. I used tarragon as I realised that I simply have not cooked much using this herb. It really is lovely with chicken but I think, it works best as part of a creamy sauce. Nevertheless, it still added an interesting dimension to a simple mid-week dish. Serve with a simple green salad.

Garlicky Tarragon Chicken Goujons

400g chicken tenderloins (sliced up chicken breast can be substituted)

2Tbsp sour cream

2 Tbsp chopped up tarragon

1 c garlic croutons (for crumbing)

Oil for frying

In a bowl, marinate the chicken pieces in the sour cream for a couple of hours.

Make the croutons by baking cubes of stale bread, tossed in oil and garlic, in an oven until dry and crunchy. When cool, roughly grind up into crumbs by running a rolling pin over it a few times. Mix the tarragon leaves in with the crumbs.

Coat the chicken pieces in the crumb and herb mixture. Fry in oil until golden. These can also be cooked in a 200deg C oven for approximately 20mins or until golden brown.

Chunky Smoked Salmon dip

Oh how I've missed posting and interacting with you my bloggy mates. I can't say I am back with a vengeance, for I am still time-poor and barely hanging on to my sanity just to keep the machinations of housekeeping going while holding down a paid full-time job.

I just thought I had better post some of the things I've made recently (or not so recently) before I forget the recipes.

Smoked salmon. Ah! I love this stuff. I made a dip to take to a friend's baby shower and couple of the ladies asked for the recipe. So, here goes...

Chunky Smoked Salmon dip

200g smoked salmon
1 baby fennel bulb
2 Tbsp creme fraiche
2 Tbsp chopped dill
1 Tbsp finely chopped spring onion
salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

Roughly shred the smoked salmon into small pieces. Chop the fennel bulb into very fine cubes, you'll need approx. 1/2 a cup.

Mix the creme fraiche, dill spring onions and salt and pepper well.
Add the smoked salmon and fennel and very carefully toss together.


*The richness of the salmon is great with the fresh, crisp and slightly sweet bits of fennel. I served this with some store-bought crackers (baked with bits of caramelised onion) but this would also be lovely with thin pieces of white bread toast.