I just spent a week in Hawai’i, the Big Island, and came home to cold and dreary weather. We hit avocado season there, which was amazing, but also found lots of fresh papaya, some passion fruit, and some interesting varieties of dragon fruit. But back here on the mainland, the tropical fruit variety is less exciting. The grocery store did have some rather sad-looking papaya, but the mangoes looked pretty good. The smaller honey mangoes were ripe and ready to eat.
Beyond that, I have a recipe on my menu plan this week that required 1/4 of a head of red cabbage. I swear, recipes either require a whole cabbage or just a bit, and I hate wasting things. So I pulled this slaw together to go with several other meals and use up a bit more of the cabbage (that still only gets me to half the head, but I’ll stir-fry the rest).
This is a TART slaw, not creamy, and the only “dressing” is lime juice and the juice from the mangoes — this is why it needs to rest a bit. My mangoes were super sweet, and the dinner that this was a side dish for was rich enough that this made a good accompaniment as it was. You may want to adjust a bit — a pinch or two of salt or sugar or a drizzle of olive oil may be needed to perfect this crunchy tart dish. Adjust as needed, and enjoy.
- 2 cups red/purple cabbage shredded
- 2/3 cup honey mango cubed
- 1/4 cup cilantro thick stems removed, rough chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Thai basil leaves chopped
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 1/4 cup scallions thinly sliced
- 1/4 head cabbage shredded
- 1 small honey mango cubed
- 1/2 bunch cilantro thick stems removed, rough chopped
- 2 stems Thai basil leaves only, chopped
- 1/2 lime juiced
- 4 small scallions thinly sliced
- Prepare all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Let flavors meld for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.
- Before serving, taste and adjust -- add a pinch of salt, sugar, or a drizzle of olive oil if needed.