Spicy Mango Lime Salsa with Asian Pear
Mmm, mmm, mmmm. The combination of fresh mango, lime, and cilantro just screams summer. Food like this makes me want to kick off my shoes and go run through the sprinkler a few times. (I can’t tell you how glad I am…finally!…for the warmer weather.)
This salsa has a really good balance of flavors and textures.
It gets its sweetness from ripe mango, its tang from a healthy dose of lime juice, a little bite from fresh shallot and garlic, and some mellow heat from Aleppo chili flakes.
Aleppo chili flakes
The mango is smooth and soft, which is a great contrast to the crunch of crisp Asian pear. This salsa is great with chips—or as a cool, fresh topping for grilled chicken or pork.
What is an Asian pear?
Also known as apple pears, or Chinese pears, Asian pears have a mild and sweet flavor but are round like an apple. The peel can range from yellow-ish to green-ish, with white flesh inside. They’re super crisp and very, very juicy.
Asian pear
My favorite thing about Asian pears, however, is that they don’t oxidize when cut, so they won’t turn brown on you.
This makes them a lot more versatile in the kitchen. And it also means you don’t automatically have to coat them in lemon juice to keep them from discoloring.
Spicy Mango Lime Salsa with Asian Pear
1 mango, peeled and chopped
1 small shallot, peeled and chopped
1 Asian pear, peeled and chopped
3 Tbls. cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. Aleppo chili flakes
juice from 1 medium lime
1 garlic clove, mashed
kosher salt
Makes about 2 cups of salsa, depending on the size of your fruit
Spicy Mango Lime Salsa with Asian Pear: How to cut up a mango
If you’re not sure how to do this, here are detailed instructions.
Mangoes are kind of a pain to cut up because they have a large, flat seed in the center. This is a pretty easy way of getting around it and getting the flesh out. Ripen an under-ripe mango just like you would an avocado—in a paper bag on the counter.
So…grab your mango and a big, sharp knife.
Slice down along one side of the stem, like this. If your knife hits the pit, just shift it over and try again.
You can kind of see the white pit peeking through on the left half, in the center.
Make a second cut on the other side of the stem.
You should wind up with three pieces of mango: two thick lobes, as well as the flat center piece that contains the seed.
Grab one of the side pieces. Score a checkerboard in the mango flesh, cutting all the way down until your knife touches the mango skin—but don’t cut through it.
Next, turn it inside out, so the pieces of mango stick out, like this.
Then set it on a board and push it down so it lays kind of flat. Run a sharp knife just above the skin, like this, to slice the pieces off.
Do the same with the other side of the mango.
Finally, cut off the mango around the pit.
This last part is kind of messy, imperfect business, but that’s just fine. You’re going to chop the mango up, anyway, so it doesn’t really matter if you wind up with neat pieces.
Spicy Mango Lime Salsa with Asian Pear: Chop, chop, chop!
When you’ve removed the flesh from the mango, roughly chop it up.
Next, peel your Asian pear with a peeler or a paring knife.
Cut it in half.
And then into quarters, removing the seeds just like you would with an apple.
Then chop it up into pieces roughly the same size as your mango.
Peel and dice your shallot.
And chop up your cilantro.
Spicy Mango Lime Salsa with Asian Pear: Assemble the salsa
Toss the mango, Asian pear, shallot, and cilantro into a medium-sized bowl.
Toss in the Aleppo chili.
Cut your lime in half and squeeze both pieces over the bowl.
Add the garlic.
And some kosher salt, to taste.
Mix the whole thing up really well to combine all the ingredients.
Spicy Mango Lime Salsa with Asian Pear: Serve & enjoy!
Serve immediately for a drier, chunkier salsa.
If you like, stick the salsa in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavors meld. The salt will draw out some of the moisture from the mango and pear, making a wonderfully juicy salsa.
Totally up to you.
Enjoy!
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18 Comments
OHH I’m happy about warm weather as well! I love mango too! The bright colors of mango makes me think summer
never thought of combining spices such as chili flakes and lime. You’re going to look at me like I am crazy but I never had asian pears before. I’ve seen it but never eaten it. Since you’ve given it two big thumbs up, I’m going to see if my local fruit stand has it.
I gotta give this one a try, the photos are making me crave spicy mango lime salsa now :-p
Looks great Jesse! I bet that would be amazing served with fish! When I visit my sister in Costa Rica, we make a different fruit salsa every day, and serve with the fish her husband catches during the day, it’s so good!
Thanks for sharing!
Oh this does look so good & summery Jessie. Mangoes are here now, & I can see this on my grilled chicken!!
Oh, yum. Would be so good on grilled chicken. Yes, please!
+Jessie
This looks great–def. reminds me of summer!
The ultimate summer food for me is bruschetta, which we made for the first time last night. I can’t wait until we truly have summer tomatoes around!
Thanks, Teri!
Oh gosh, I’m with you on the summer tomatoes. I can’t wait!!
+Jessie
OMG, this is AWESOME! I came home from my appointment with the pear and cilantro and made this. We will have it tomorrow with dinner (if I don’t eat it all before then!). My mango was on the smallish side so I used 2. YUMMY!
Oh yay! So glad you liked it! And I totally had the same reaction: Must not gobble down entire bowl. Must not gobble down entire bowl. Hehehehe….
+Jessie
The salsa looks delicious but the mango-how-to was invaluable! Thanks for the great post
Thanks so much! I was hoping the mango tutorial would be helpful…I mangled many before before I learned how to chop one up properly.
Cheers!
+Jessie
You know I love anything with mango
Thank god the 90 degree weather is ending here.
Hehe, yeah mango is the best. Yay. And it cooled off here in Boston, too. It’s hovering in the 60s today. Very civilized with a nice breeze.
+Jessie
I swear you must have read my mind when you created this recipe. Sweet, sour and spicy is just what I needed at this moment!
Of course, I’d probably use at least three limes (to hold off the nausea) and hold the cilantro since I can’t stand strong-smelling herbs at this moment.
Now, let me forward this to my personal chef and ask him to get to work…
~Foong~
Thanks, Foong! Hehehe, I just love this combination of flavors! Hope you’re feeling better soon!
*hugs*
+Jessie
YUM!!! And now I have the perfect site to send my hubby to when I’m not home, and say, dice the mango…. Great pics, but I’m not sure how you have the patience to do SO many – amazing!!!!!
All my favorite things — mangoes and Asian pears. I have trouble finding good Asian pears here in Boston, though. I grew up in the DC area, and we had so many large Korean supermarkets that sold excellent Asian pears. I just can’t seem to find them here!
Hi! Followed the link from Grumpy’s Honeybunch for this incredible salsa. It sounds absolutely divine and I can’t wait to make it. Love the pairing of firm pair and soft mango, and of sweet and spicy.