Our Lebanese greengrocer has had perfect, fragrant little mangos in canary-yellow boxes of six, each mango nestled in bright pink tissue paper in a little card compartment, all the way from Pakistan. I can’t resist them and have been haunting the shop like an addict as deliveries are frustratingly haphazard. I remember reading something by Nigel Slater about how ideally you’d eat mangos naked as the sweet juice always runs down your chin and arms. It’s a wonderful thought as eating is such a sensuous pleasure. For me mangos are a bit like asparagus – something to be savoured just as they are as their season is so brief.
Last week I had a few too many to manage. I’d ripped out this recipe from the Telegraph Stella magazine, by Diana Henry, and gave it a try. It’s very easy, the Greek yoghurt and lime gives the ice cream a bit of sharpness and you have a luscious taste of summer in the freezer whenever you need it. In this batch of recipes was also one for a mango bellini – you make a puree similar to the one above, ie mangoes and lime (and perhaps some sugar if needed), chill till icy then pour into a jug with prosecco and serve. Haven’t tried it but it sounds delicious too.
Mango, lime and cardamom ice cream
Serves 8
Prep time: 20 mins
100g granulated sugar
150ml water
seeds from 10 cardamom pods, crushed
3 large, really ripe mangoes, peeled
juice of 5 limes
200ml double cream
6 tbsp Greek yoghurt
4 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
Heat the sugar and water over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, stirring from time to time. Add the cardamom. Turn up the heat a little and simmer gently for 10 minutes, until syrupy. Take off the heat and leave to cool. Strain to remove the cardamom.
Peel the mango and cut the ‘cheeks’ off each side. Remove the rest of the flesh from the stone using a small sharp knife. Put all the flesh into a food processor. Whizz until you have a smooth puree; there should be about 600ml (1 pint) of it. Add the lime juice and sugar syrup and combine thoroughly.
Whip the cream until it holds its shape then add the puree, stirring as you do so. Add the yoghurt and icing sugar as well. You need to beat well to ensure there are no lumps of cream or yoghurt. [I found there were quite a few lumps and they were quite hard to get rid of]
Pour the mixture into your icecream maker or, if you don’t have one, into a shallow container and place in the coldest part of the freezer for about two hours or until it is beginning to freeze around the edges. Then, using an electric beater, whisk the frozen edges into the middle, replace the lid and return to the freezer for a further two to three hours. Repeat the whole process then freeze again until it is quite frozen.
Before serving, take the ice cream out to soften a bit.
Serves 8
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