Knives Cooks Love: How to Buy, Sharpen, and Use Your Most Important Kitchen Tool

Mango-Cucumber Salsa

There's lots of dicing and mincing to do here, but once that's out of the way, you just toss everything together and you're done. This makes a fresh, colorful condiment for grilled or sautéed pork chops, chicken breasts, or fish fillets.

Makes about 2 cups

2 small, ripe mangoes
1/2 seedless cucumber (about 6 inches), peeled
1/4 red bell pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro (see page 132), plus a stem for garnish
1 green onion, white and light green parts only, sliced thinly
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, plus more as needed
Pinch of sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Peel and pit the mango and cut the flesh into ¼-inch dice (see pages 144 and 145). Cut the cucumber into ¼-inch dice (see page 109). Cut the bell pepper into ¼-inch dice (see page 116).

Put the mangoes, cucumber, bell pepper, cilantro, green onion, and jalapeño in a medium bowl. Toss to combine. Add the lime juice, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss, taste, and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with cilantro stem if desired. Serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 12 hours.

For such a succulent fruit, mangoes sure are a pain to peel and pit. Here is one option found in Knives Cooks Love.

method 1: dice first, then peel

The advantage to this approach is that you don't have to grip the slippery flesh. It works best when you need ½-inch dice or larger.

1 Cut a thin slice off the stem end of the mango to create a flat base. With the knife a little off the center point, slice off one broad cheek of the mango. The knife should barely rub against the pit on its way down. Cut the other cheek off the same way.

2 Score the flesh with the tip of a paring knife in a crosshatch pattern, creating the size dice you want. Be careful not to cut through the skin.

3 Invert the mango half so the cubes pop out. Cut the cubes away from the skin. Repeat with the other half. Cut the two thinner sides off of the pit and handle them the same way.

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Contact: Aimee Bianca, YC Media: (212) 609-5009, aimee@ycmedia.com

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Knives Cooks Love: How to Buy, Sharpen, and Use Your Most Important Kitchen Tool

Authors: Sur La Table, Sarah Jay
ISBN: 978-0-7407-7002-9
Format: Hardcover: 7 1/2 x 10 1/2, 192 pages with 175 photos and 21 recipes
Price: $25.00 hardcover ($27.50 Canada)