Wednesday 11 February 2015

Mango and Macadamia Salad with a Creamy Dressing

Now for a fun post ...
While it is still summer and the mangoes are large, juicy and sweet while the macadamias can still be freshly sourced, is the time for salad enjoyment.  This salad is served on our table weekly over summer.

Hubby was a bit annoyed the other night as he retrieved the gas cannister from where it was hooked up to my backyard smoker for his barbecue and said "It feels a little light, how long were you smoking your chipotles for?  You must have had it on for hours!"    Followed by "I can probably only cook the lamb (butterflied and marinated) for 5 minutes then you will have to take over."   Accompanied by a disbelieving shake of his head.

So unfortunately he couldn't even warm up the barbecue before the gas in the bottle expired.


Ergo I turned on the teppan to warm up and had the lamb on the table, resting, in under 20 minutes.  I also made this super quick salad.  A lovely light fresh burst of flavours that balance the richness of the almost-barbecued lamb perfectly well.

Suffice to say it was a delightful evening dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mango and Macadamia Salad with a Creamy Dressing

1/2 cup macadamia halves
1 mango, chopped into approx 2cm cubes
1 tomato, cut into 8 slices
1/2 large cucumber, cut into slices, peeling is optional
1/4 red onion finely diced
2 handfuls of lettuce leaves, washed and torn into chunks

Dressing:
1/3 cup thickened cream
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice (I sometimes use half lemon juice/half champagne vinegar)
salt and pepper
Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.

Warm up a small frying pan and over low heat lightly roast the macadamia halves.  Set aside to cool.
On top of a large platter, scatter the torn lettuce leaves.
Top with cucumber, tomato and onion.
Add the mango on top then pour over the dressing with long movements.
Grind some extra freshly cracked black pepper over top.
Sprinkle with macadamia nuts and serve immediately.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you use mangoes in savoury dishes, kindly tell me how you would serve them?
Thus, an idea shared is enjoyable for all.

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

28 comments:

  1. We sorted out the gas bottle problem by buying an extra bottle so now when we run out, we have to fill two. :) This summer salad would suit me down to the ground!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good idea Maureen. I will suggest that to hubby so we can avoid this dilemma :)

      Delete
  2. Oh, this does so remind me of an Aussie summer - do so miss the Aussie mangoes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The mangoes are simply beautiful Rachel :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mangoes don't feature on our table as Dave doesn't eat them. We have 2 gas bottles in case one runs out - which usually happens in the middle of cooking dinner. PS your captcha is not working - spent about half an hour this morning trying to comment on my tablet :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Tandy, I had no idea and will fix that. Yes, I am hearing two gas bottles is the way to go, let's hope we can alternate the filling of them !

      Delete
  5. Yum, this looks great! Thanks for sharing!
    Melanie @ meandmr.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Melanie, you have made my day with your kind comment :)

      Delete
  6. This salad looks so refreshing! It has me longing for summer. Happy Friday :)

    http://www.lovecompassionatelee.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind words, salads are the essence of summer :D

      Delete
  7. This sounds like a delicious salad! I've never had nor heard of a salad with macadamia nuts. Love them, and must try this. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Macadamia nuts are my very favourite Pam, you can also use pecans but the macadamias have a particular crunch and great flavour :D

      Delete
  8. Yum, that looks great! Thanks for sharing!
    Melanie @ meandmr.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm sure he will appreciate the smoked chillies though! What a great sounding salad :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Lorraine, he will appreciate the smoked chillies and he loves this mango macadamia salad :)

      Delete
  10. Summer is so wonderful. Your chipotles sound far more important than the lamb. This is summer on a plate

    ReplyDelete
  11. Tania it seems everyone concurs, the chipotles were worth it and mangoes are great in a salad :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. We run out of propane all the time. Should really get an extra container, like Maureen suggests. Anyway, this looks terrific -- thanks so much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We now have TWO gas bottles full, Maureen's advice has been heeded and it is such a relief, thanks John :)

      Delete
  13. Mangoes are a favourite. They go well with salads. Love that you combined them with macadamia. So refreshing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes mangoes are one of my favourite summer fruits too and everyone eats them in a salad, so it is a win win situation :)

      Delete
  14. What a gorgeous salad - and I love mango. I am enjoying the last of the summer fruits before autumn falls.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are so lucky in Australia to have such a long summer season with gorgeous fruits :)

      Delete
  15. Simply damn delicious !!!
    Dedy@Dentist Chef

    ReplyDelete
  16. local mangoes and macadamias? i am sooooo envious.

    ReplyDelete