Mango, Celery and Goat Cheese Salad – A Winning Performance!
A few weeks ago, I was out shopping at Costco and treated myself to this ENORMOUS bag of frozen mangoes.
I don’t know about you, but whenever I get some new and exciting food item like that, I seem to become obsessed with it and want to eat nothing but that for days.
This bag of frozen mangoes was no exception and I must’ve gone through close to half the bag before I got tired of having mango smoothies every morning! I wanted to actually sink my teeth into real chunks of mango, not just taste the pureed fruit.
I racked my brains to try and think of a main course that would make real good use of LOTS of big pieces of cold mango. Something that would truly make it the star of the dish, put it on a pedestal, make it shine like a true star, elevate it to great summits, you know…
Ok, I’ll stop now. I think you get the idea!
Well guess what guys… it seems that all I could come up with was… Right on: another salad!
So be it.
I started building around that star ingredient and decided that it needed a super crunchy yet insanely fresh partner to play the role of second in command. Something rather plain and fairly simple though, so it wouldn’t go and steal the show. A humble player but whose reputation was very well established, still.
Celery got the role.
Now that the two main actors had been chosen, I needed yet another key player that would add a little bit of substance to this play. Again, something that would have a great presence without being too distracting. No flamboyance wanted here, thank you very much. Still, that guy would have to be a little nut. A foreigner? Why not?
It was Brazil who made the cut.
Then, to balance things out, we needed a final player, one that would tie this whole gig together, that would make the whole story run smoothly and harmoniously whilst bringing the performance of the entire troup to the next level.
A goat to lead the way!
A few more figurants were called upon to tie up the loose ends and a repetition was immediately scheduled.
Only one tiny little detail remained. Where to set the scene?
It was decided that a bed of mâche would make a pleasently suitable ground for this colourful bunch to offer the best performance they had to give.
As for me, I was lucky enough to be the guest of honor at this great première and as such, I was the first to appreciate the fruit of this deliciously refreshing act.
My verdict? I believe a star is born! The commingling of all those involved was simply brilliant.
Well worthy of a red carpet…
BRAVO!
Mango, Celery and Goat Cheese Salad
Ingredients
- 1-2 cups mâche
- 250 g mango cubes, I used frozen but fresh would be even better
- 2 large celery stalks, sliced
- 30 g Brazil nuts, coarsely chopped
- 12-15 large fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
- 12-15 large fresh mint leaves, chiffonade
- 2 tsp cidar vinegar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 30 g unripened goat cheese, crumbled
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, add mango cubes, celery, Brazil nuts, basil, mint, vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix until ingredients are well distributed.
- Directly onto your serving plate, form a bed with the mâche. Place the mango / celery mixture on top of that bed.
- Sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese and serve immediately.
Nutrition
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20 Comments on “Mango, Celery and Goat Cheese Salad – A Winning Performance!”
You had me at Mango but you really won me over with the goat cheese! Although I had never heard of mache before – not sure I’ll be able to find that one!
Just looked on the Wegman’s grocery store and I guess they carry it – I’ve just never seen it. I’ll be trying something new this weekend!
It was new to me also! Instantly fell in love. It has a very mild and fresh flavor that goes well with everything. And it’s just sooooo pretty! Great new discovery for me. Hope you like it too. 🙂
Gorgeous salad!
Thank you! 🙂
Looks absolutely gorgeous, but shall wait for the first real mangoes, methinks! Don’t know mache always available here, tatsoi will do the trick 🙂 !
Oh, I totally hear you, fresh must be so much better, but I was surprised at how good frozen really is. The frozen mango cubes hold their structure very well and take no time to thaw at all. But still, I will have to try again with fresh mango, sometime! Never heard of tatsoi, will have to look it up. Too bad about the mache, though. It was such a perfect match!
The other name for mache is ‘lamb’s lettuce’, isn’t it? Or am I mistaken? Tatsoi is one of the many Asian salad greens we get here in profusion. I thought of it ’cause the leaves are about the same size, tho’ not so floppy: it also has a deeper flavour. Usually comes in mixed salad pouches. I grow heaps of it – it’s like mint, comes up in profusion 🙂 !
Among many others, apparently! Wow, I didn’t know mache had so many names! You just got me to learn 2 new things. I’ll have to keep an eye out for Tatsoi, but I don’t believe it’s available here.
And would you believe me if I told you I can’t seem to be successful at growing mint? It just keeps dying on me. Echinacea, on the other hand…
What a gorgeous combination of cold mango and crunch!
This looks so great! I’m a bit obsessed with using mangoes in savoury cooking at the moment, all the Asian shops are full of these incredible mangoes from Pakistan and I can’t get enough! Really love the look of this salad, I’ll be giving it a go soon!
Oh, I shouldn’t have seen mango and Asian in the same sentence Mango and Asian go so well together. Now I need to create something that fits the description… mangoes, sesame, green onions, chicken, red bell peppers, ginger… I feel a trip to the store coming. Or maybe I can use some of that frozen mango again. I still have a little bit left. Ooooh, thank you so much for the inspiration, Elly!
Oh and I hope you like this salad as much as I did if you end up trying it! 🙂
This looks so pretty, healthy and inviting! I love the flavours.
Thank you Angie, real glad you like! 🙂
This salad is soooo good. I will probably be having this a lot because I need to kick start my weight loss again for the trip to Barbados I just booked! I love the mint and mango together – but it’s making me want a mango mojito!
So glad you like it Joann! It must be super good with fresh mangoes, but really, I am surprised at how true to their natural texture and taste frozen mangoes remain after thawing.
Barbados??? LUCKY!!!! I’m planning on going to Cuba again this year, at the end of September. I too need to drop a few pounds so I can look my best in that bikini!
BTW – I used fresh mangoes. I have frozen but I’ve never thought about letting them thaw out because I wasn’t sure how they would be. I usually just use the frozen mangoes for smoothies and buy fresh for everything else. I may freeze some of my own this year too now that I have the Foodsaver.
I think I would follow a goat anywhere.
Anywhere? Really? Hummmm… you’re quite adventurous! 😉