Last Saturday was the official housewarming party for our new place. My roommates and I (there are five of us) all invited out friends over for an epic potluck and barbecue party. The day started off auspiciously - it was super hot and sunny as late as 4 that afternoon - and despite an unfortunate torrential rainfall that made an appearance later that night, the party was still a success! Good conversations, lots of mingling between friend groups, and some really awesomely good potluck food made for a really fun evening.
I tend to get a little overzealous when cooking for parties. I started with my usual culprit for any potluck party: mango-avocado salsa. I also made black bean burgers (my go-to choice for barbecues, although this particular batch was very disappointing). And then, at the last second, I decided that I wanted to make sure I had a dessert I could eat too, so I made sugar cookie/biscotti hybrids as well. (My roommates thought I was a little nuts to start making cookies at 11 pm at night, I must say).
Burger and cookie recipes will hopefully follow later this week, but for now: salsa!
I developed my mango-avocado salsa recipe when I went on the exclusion cleanse to diagnose my allergies in the first place. I was off corn and tomato in addition to all my usual restrictions, and was going crazy eating nothing but fish on salad. My cleanse guide suggested trying "fruit salsa". I'd once, years ago, bought a mango-avocado salsa, and I thought it might be a good starting place to experiment from. The results were initially promising, and I've refined the recipe considerably since then. It constantly gets rave reviews at parties. The only reservations I have about this recipe are cost (both mangoes and avocados are expensive), and the need for pre-planning (neither mangoes or avocados can regularly be bought ripe and ready to use, so it's a hard dish to make spontaneously). But for potluck parties, I know in advance, and I'm generally willing to shell out a bit for a dish that impresses.
Mango-Avocado Salsa
(Note: this recipe makes quite a lot; half a recipe makes a nice appetizer or side dish for a small dinner party)
2 mangoes, diced in ~1/2 inch cubes
2 avocadoes, similarly diced
1/3 red onion, diced very small
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
juice of 2 limes
~half a bunch of cilantro, chopped, to taste*
ground cumin, to taste
cayenne pepper, to taste, OR 1 jalapeno (including seeds), diced fine
*I have repeatedly had sworn cilantro haters tell me "I hate cilantro but I love this", so if you don't like cilantro, I would still give this recipe a try. You can, of course, add less, to preference. (I am a confirmed cilantro lover and do tend to use lots).
Make sure the avocados and mangoes are ripe. If purchased and still hard, store at room temperature in a brown paper bag (steal from the mushroom section of the grocery store). If you need to ripen them faster, include a ripe tomato or banana in the same bag. (There's a hormone released by ripening fruit that promotes fruit to ripen. The paper bag contains the hormones, concentrating them. Tomatos and bananas release high levels of the hormone and can promote the ripening of other fruit as well).
The longest part of this recipe is in peeling and dicing the mango. (This is also a very messy process). Dice the avocado as well, and immediately add the lime juice to keep the avocado green. Add the garlic, onions, cilantro, and jalapeno (if using), mix, and taste. Add cumin (and cayenne) to taste if using. Keep in mind that the heat from cayenne WILL intensify, markedly, as the salsa sits, so underspice it.
Serve with chips or crackers, or as a topping on meat. It's been pointed out to me that if the mango and avocado were sliced rather than cubed this would also make an awesome salad, but I've never tried myself.
Make, eat, enjoy =) I am damn proud of this recipe, so I hope y'all like it!
ETA: I discovered much later that mango-avocado salsa is actually a very popular recipe published by Martha Stuart; and here I thought I was being so creative with my version! But whether you use my recipe or hers, I still think it's a delicious appetizer for parties.
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