Two Versions of Mango, Jicama, Red Onion, and Cucumber: Salad and Gazpacho-style Chilled Soup

 It was a beautiful Sunday--sunny, just hot enough, and not too humid--so we had some people over for brewing (not my thing) and grilling (my thing). And though there always seems to be enough meat and chips to go around at a barbeque, there is not always enough salad. So I decided to make a fresh and light tasting salad with flavors strong enough to go with grilled food. A favorite salad of mine that fit the bill exactly is Jicama, Mango, Red Onion, and Cucumber Salad. I like to dress it with a typical Southeast Asian combination of lime, sugar, fish sauce, and hot chilis, and then toss in some fresh chopped mint and cilantro. It makes a great summer salad (or spring salad, for climates like I live in now, where spring is hot too). It only benefits from sitting out for a few hours, which makes it perfect for a grilling party.

Eating the salad made me think of how else this recipe could be adapted for a formal dinner, and I came up with the idea of Chilled Mango Lime Gazpacho with Jicama, Red Onion, and Cucumber. A cold soup like this would make an excellent start to a summer dinner. The tartness of the lime balances the sweetness of the mango, and the crunch of the jicama, red onion, and cucumber add texture to the smooth soup. The first stage of the soup can be prepared basically like the salad, with the only change being to cut the mangoes in larger, and everything else in a smaller dice. That way you can easily remove the mango pieces to a blender with whatever juices have been extracted, blend those up, and top with the diced salsa.

Jicama, Mango, Red Onion, and Cucumber Salad (serves 10)

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

3 tablespoons Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons warm water

1 small Thai pepper, finely chopped, or 1 jalapeno, finely chopped (add more if you love spice)

1 red onion

1 small jicama bulb

3 medium sized mangoes

1 English cucumber

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup mint, coarsely chopped

In a large salad bowl, stir together the first five ingredients. 

Peel the red onion, and thinly slice it from the root to the tip. Add it to the salad bowl and toss it to cover with the dressing. 

Peel the jicama bulb with a sharp knife or a vegetable peeler. Slice it into 1/4 inch slices. Pile those on top of each other, and slice the other way to create pieces roughly the size of one of the onion slices. Add to the salad bowl.

Next, you will slice the mango in similar size pieces. I really should have taken pictures of this, but this is the easiest way to do it in my opinion: hold the mango on a cutting board with the stem part up. The seed is oval shaped, and runs down the middle of the wide part of the mango. You want to cut the sides of the mango off the seed, cutting as close to the seed as you can to get the most fruit off. Once you have cut these two main parts off, slice as much fruit off the seed as possible, and throw that in the bowl. Discard the seed. Place the mango pieces skin side down on a cutting board. Slice the fruit from top to bottom in 1/4 inch slices, being very careful to cut all the way through the pulp but not to cut the skin. Then make one similar cut (not cutting the skin) going perpendicular to the other cuts, to make the correct size slices. Now cut the pulp away from the skin around the edges of the mango slice. Next, turn the skin inside out, and using a sharp knife, cut the fruit away from the skin. It should be perfectly cut. Repeat with the rest of the mangoes, and throw all the pulp in the salad bowl and toss.

For the cucumber, cut it in half from end to end, then slice it in 1/4 inch slices. Add those to the bowl.

Now the salad can rest for up to an hour. Toss it with the mint and cilantro before serving, and enjoy!

Chilled Mango Lime Gazpacho with Jicama, Red Onion, and Cucumber (serves 6)

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

3 tablespoons Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons warm water

1 small Thai pepper, finely chopped, or 1 jalapeno, finely chopped (add more if you love spice)

half a red onion

half a small jicama bulb

3 medium sized mangoes

half an English cucumber

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup mint, coarsely chopped

for garnish, sprigs of mint or cilantro

In a large bowl, stir together the first five ingredients to make the marinade. 

Peel the red onion, and cut into ¼ inch dice. Peel the jicama bulb with a sharp knife or a vegetable peeler. Slice it into ¼ inch slices. Pile those on top of each other, and slice the other way. Cut those slices again the other way to create ¼ inch dice. For the cucumber, cut it into quarters from end to end, then slice it in 1/4 inch slices. Trying to keep the mango in as large of pieces as you can, peel the mango and remove the seed. Toss all these ingredients into the bowl with the marinade. Allow this to rest at room temperature for an hour. If not much liquid has pooled at the bottom of the bowl, toss it again and let it rest for longer. 

Remove the mangos from the bowl and place them in a blender. Taking care to keep all the liquid, strain the rest of the ingredients. Add the liquid to mangos and blend for 30 seconds, or until very smooth. Taste and season with salt or sugar if necessary. If it is too thin, add additional water. Cover and refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Also chill the diced ingredients.

When you are almost ready to serve, toss the diced ingredients with the mint and cilantro to make a salsa of sorts. Distribute the mango soup between the bowls. In the middle of each bowl, add a big spoonful of salsa so that it shows above the soup. Garnish with a sprig of mint or cilantro, and serve cold.