Another favourite fruit in season – mangoes! My grandfather grew mango trees of different varieties. I have very good memories of harvest season back in the Philippines when I was a young girl. My favourite was the “Indian Mango”, which was not commercially popular but pretty much every backyard in the provinces have this tree. The fruit is best eaten while just about turning ripe or even when it is still green and you get that crunch sound when you bite into it. Other varieties I love are the Apple mangoes, very similar to the Indian mango but bigger and has a red tint at the top of the fruit and the Carabao mangoes, which is commercially popular with soft, juicy and almost fibre-less flesh when ripe. Making them into shakes is a very popular way of enjoying these fruits especially during summer. Unfortunately, I have never found any of the Philippine varieties available in Australia. The closest variety I enjoy here is the Calypso mango, which is like a cross between an Apple mango and Carabao mango. It is juicy and sweet but a bit firmer flesh than Carabao mango when ripe. I love it when it is a little bit overripe so I can grill it, which makes it even more sweet. Brushed with bit of macadamia oil, sprinkled with coconut sugar then grilled until it has caramelised, it surely is delicious served with lime juice and creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream. A bit of honey drizzle won’t hurt as well!

Ingredients

• Calypso mango (make sure it is ripe)
• 1 teaspoon macadamia oil
• 2 teaspoons coconut sugar ( muscovado or brown sugar is fine if you don’t have coconut sugar)
• 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve
• creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream, to serve
• honey, to serve
• fresh mint sprigs, to garnish

Method

1. Preheat grill to high heat. I used a grill pan but you can use your oven grill if you prefer.
2. Cut mango in halves, avoiding the large pit. While being careful to not cut through the skin, make horizontal and vertical cuts on the flesh making a checkered pattern.
3. Brush both halves with macadamia oil. Sprinkle with coconut sugar.
4. Place mango halves on heated grill ( flesh down if using grill pan or flesh up if using your oven grill).
5. Grill for 2 minutes or until they start to caramelise.
6. Remove from grill. Place on serving plate and let them cool for about 5 minutes.
7. Just before serving, squeeze lime juice on grilled mangoes. Serve with creme fraiche or ice cream, fresh mint leaves and drizzle with bit of honey.

Tempting, isn’t it?