Mango Fruit Salad

What do you give a neighbor who drops you to the airport, then picks up the newspaper and mail and also waters your plants? A gift from your travels right?? But then comes a record breaking snowstorm that prevents our return. This is where the Lienhards become paragons of virtue. They shovel two feet of snow off the driveway, clean snow off the cars and make a wide path to the house. Then comes the dire warning of flooding. Ominous predictions of a full moon, high tide and storm surge sound like a repeat of Superstorn Sandy. Rosa and Rolf are galvanized into action and clear the den of everything on the floor!  

How do you repay these selfless guestures? The best way I know is gifts from the kitchen!!! They love Indian food. Some chicken curry and rice will go a long way with the family. Sides are sweet potatoes and kale. A spicy channa goes well too. And dessert is their favorite...mango fruit salad. 

I can honestly say this recipe is not my concoction. It belongs to my friend Jennifer Louis. She generously shared her dessert some twenty years ago and now it is firmly entrenched in my repertoire. Summer adds a different dimension as seasonal fresh fruit play a big part. Winter versions have both fresh and canned fruit. No matter the season, the mainstay is a can of Alphonso mango pulp. The rich mango flavor is unmatched by any other mango. A dash of half and half, a few tablespoons of sugar and you have a a fruit salad fit for kings! Or good neighbors!

MANGO FRUIT SALAD
Recipe by Jennifer Louis

Serves 4-6

1 28oz can Alphonso Mango pulp

1/4 cup Half & Half OR 1/4 cup Cream and Milk

2 tablespoons Sugar

A Pinch of Kosher Salt

1 Banana

1 Apple

1 can Mandarin Oranges

1 can Peach Slices

1 can Litchis

1/2 cup Blueberries 

Pour mango pulp into a bowl.

Add half & half, sugar and salt to pulp and mix well.

Slice banana into mango.

Quarter apple. Remove core and cut into bite size pieces. Add to mango.

Open cans of mandarin oranges, peaches and litchis. Drain syrup well and add fruit to mango.

Scatter blueberries in. 

Give the mango and fruit a good stir to mix. 

Refrigerate until you serve.

NOTES

I used Ratna Alphonso Mango pulp. If you cannot find Alphonso pulp, use the best mango pulp that is available.

Add any fruit of your choice. Most fruit work well in the mango sauce. A word of caution if you plan to use kiwi or pineapple. These fruit change the texture of the fruit salad if it sits overnight. 

Rosa picks us up at the airport at an unearthly hour in the morning. We come home to pristine sidewalks,  a huge bowl of fruit and flowers! Some of that fruit makes its way into her dessert.  The saying goes as one good deed deserves another. In this case, these good deeds deserve dinner and dessert!!

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