Trinidadian Mango Chow with Lime, Cilantro and Scotch Bonnet

Choose your mangoes carefully — they should give only slightly when pressed. Fully soft mangoes will collapse into pulp the moment they meet the lime juice.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 4 large just-ripe mangoes (firm, not soft), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
• 1 packed cup fresh cilantro leaves and stems, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1/2 to 1 scotch bonnet or habanero pepper, seeded and very finely minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh chadon beni (culantro), chopped, if you can find it
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar, only if the mangoes are very tart

Instructions

1. Choose your mangoes carefully — they should give only slightly when pressed. Fully soft mangoes will collapse into pulp the moment they meet the lime juice.
2. Peel the mangoes and slice the flesh away from the flat pits, then cut into generous 1-inch chunks and pile them into a large non-reactive bowl.
3. In a small bowl, stir together the lime juice, minced garlic, minced scotch bonnet, salt and black pepper. Let this sit for 5 minutes so the garlic and chili bloom into the acid.
4. Wear gloves when handling the scotch bonnet, and start with just half a pepper — you can always stir in more, but there is no undoing the heat once it is in.
5. Add the chopped cilantro, chadon beni if using, and the neutral oil to the lime mixture and whisk briefly to combine.
6. Pour the dressing over the mango chunks and fold gently with a rubber spatula until every piece is coated, taking care not to break the fruit.
7. Taste and adjust: add the brown sugar only if the mangoes read more sour than sweet, and more salt if the flavors feel flat.
8. Cover and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes — long enough for the mango to chill through and draw a little juice, but not so long that it turns limp.
9. Serve cold in small bowls or paper cups with toothpicks, and pass extra lime wedges.
10. Chow is Trinidadian street food in its purest form: fruit, salt, lime, garlic and fire, tossed together in a bag and eaten with your fingers outside a rum shop or after a beach day. Mango is the classic, but the same treatment works on green pineapple, pommecythere or cucumber. Chadon beni — a serrated-leaf herb with a flavor like cilantro turned up three notches — is the authentic signature, though a generous handful of cilantro gets you most of the way there.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 135 kcal
• Protein: 2g
• Fat: 3g
• Carbohydrates: 28g
• Fiber: 3g
• Sugar: 24g
• Sodium: 480mg