Seasonal recipes from Omar Allibhoy – The Spanish Chef, cookbook author, founder of the critically acclaimed Tapas Revolution
Mango is having a moment. Thanks to the ‘fricy’ trend – fruit meets heat – it’s popping up everywhere from mango-chilli margaritas to spicy fruit bowls and fresh salsas. And right now is the window to cook with European mangoes, whose short season runs from late August to late October.
It’s still in season but you’ll have to be quick! To make the most of it while it lasts, Omar Allibhoy – The Spanish Chef – has created a collection of simple recipes that take mango well beyond smoothies into everyday cooking.
Why European? Practically all European mangoes are grown in southern Spain. Being so close to the UK means they can stay on the tree longer and be picked nearer peak ripeness – so they’re sweeter, more fragrant and juicier. They land on UK shelves in just a few days.
A delicious sea bream carpaccio and a warming chicken mango curry to bring sunshine to October evenings
Sea bream carpaccio with European mango salsa
Raw fish and ripe European mangos are a natural match — the sweetness of the fruit softens the clean, delicate flavour of the sea bream without overpowering it.
Serves 2 as a starter | Prep 15 mins | No cook
Ingredients
- 2 sea bream fillets, pin-boned
- 1 ripe European mango, in thin peels
- 1 lime, zest and juice separate
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- A few leaves of fresh coriander leaves
- 1 red chilli, finely sliced (optional)
Method
1. Slice the sea bream as thinly as you can across the grain and lay the pieces flat in a single layer across two cold plates. Season lightly with sea salt.
2. Run a vegetable peeler along the flat sides of the mango to produce long, thin ribbons. Lay them over the fish so they curl and sit naturally across the top.
3. Whisk together the lime zest and juice, sesame oil, olive oil grated ginger and soy sauce. Taste it — the dressing should be sharp, savoury and just a little fragrant.
4. Spoon the dressing evenly over the fish and European mango. Scatter with coriander leaves and a little sliced chilli if you want some heat. Serve immediately — the lime begins to cure the fish the moment the dressing lands, so do not let it sit.
Marinated chicken supreme, baby gem & Thai-style European mango curry
This is the kind of dish that looks like a lot of effort but comes together in under half an hour. The spice rub keeps things interesting without masking the chicken, and the mango sauce — built from fresh European mango, coconut milk and lemongrass — has a gentle warmth that ties everything together avoiding the excessive palm sugar they use in Thailand.
Serves 2 as a main | Prep 15 mins | Cook 25 mins
Ingredients
For the chicken and baby gem:
- 2 skin-on chicken supremes
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- Sea salt and black pepper
- Olive oil, for cooking
- 1 baby gem lettuce, halved lengthways
For the mango curry sauce (Serves 6):
- 1 ripe mango, flesh roughly chopped
- 400ml coconut milk
- 1 lemongrass stalk, bruised
- ½ shallot
- 6 kaffir lime leaves
- 10 sprigs of coriander, stalks and leaves divided
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 red chilli
- 1 thumb of fresh ginger, sliced
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- Juice of 1 lime
Method
1. Mix the cumin, coriander and paprika with a generous pinch of salt. Rub this all over the chicken, working some of it under the skin as well. Leave for 10 minutes while you get everything else ready.
2. Blend the garlic, shallot, ginger, green chili, the stalks of the coriander, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves into a puree with some oil. Fry over high heat for 30 seconds and pour the coconut cream. Simmer for 5 minutes and pass through a fine sieve. Pour back into the saucepan, add the mango, the coriander leaves and blend until smooth. Stir in the fish sauce and lime juice, taste for seasoning, and keep warm.
3. Heat a splash of olive oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat. Lay the chicken supreme skin-side down and do not touch them for 10 minutes, until the skin is deep in colour and pulls away cleanly from the pan. Flip and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the baby gem lettuce to cook for the last 3 minutes of the chicken. Rest on the pan for 5 minutes before serving.
5. Spoon the mango sauce over the base of two warm plates. Add the baby gem, then the chicken alongside or on top, and serve straight away with some small cubes of European mangoes over the top.
Jellied European mango with yoghurt and lime
This is a dessert built around one clever technique: setting the jelly at an angle so the finished glass shows two distinct diagonal layers. It is much simpler than it sounds, and the result looks striking on the table with almost no effort.
Serves 5 | Prep 20 mins, plus 4 hours setting | Cook 5 mins
Ingredients
- 1 ripe European mangoes
- 1/2 sachets of orange jelly powder
- 265ml water
- 500g natural yoghurt
- Zest of 1 limes
Method
1. Dice the European mango into small cubes.Bring half the water to the boil. Sprinkle the jelly powder and stir until dissolved. Add the cold remaining water and the European mango and give it a stir.
2. Now the technique: tilt each glass at roughly 45 degrees and prop it securely at that angle. A muffin tin works well for this although I used an empty box of eggs. Pour the cooled mango jelly into each glass so it fills the space to about halfway up the inside wall. Transfer carefully to the fridge and leave for at least 4 hours until firmly set. The jelly will set on the diagonal, flush against one side of the glass.
3. Once the jelly is completely firm, stand the glasses upright. Spoon the yoghurt into the empty space left by the diagonal — it will sit cleanly against the set jelly and fill the glass back up to near the rim, creating a clear two-tone diagonal split. If you want the yoghurt layer to hold its shape more firmly.
4. Finish with a few cubes of European mango over the top and a fine grating of lime zest over everything.