Mango Salsa

Hubby and I spent Super Bowl at a friends house this year.  They had quite the set up, including an enormous spread of food, tons of cold beverages and multiple TV viewing areas.  We spent most of the afternoon/evening lounging on their backyard patio watching the game, one of the benefits of living in Southern California in January.  The other cool thing about being outside was we were close to the grill and the deep fryer.  Yes.  A deep fryer.  There was ALL sorts of fried goodness going on.  We arrived a little late so we missed the corn dogs (which I'm sad about), but we were there for krinkle cut fries, wings, chimichangas, funnel cake and....

Wait for it.

Deep fried Twinkies. 

I have to be honest.  I had my doubts about the deep fried Twinkie.  I have had one at the Orange County Fair in the past and I wasn't impressed.  But this Twinkie was pretty stinkin good.  It was coated with a pancake batter base with cinnamon, vanilla and other ingredients I can't recall at the moment.  I shared a very small bite of this tasty fried concoction with Hubby and scarfed the rest myself.  It was yummmmmmy. 

There were a few non fried foods at the party too, including this mango salsa.  This salsa is fresh, sweet, spicy and bursting with flavor.  It's super duper healthy, making me feel a little better about eating that Twinkie (and the weenies in BBQ sauce, hot dog, chips and onion dip, fries, funnel cake, strawberry whipped cream cake--good lord!).  This mango salsa is all fresh fruit, veggies and herbs.  It's great on chips of course.  But it also makes a tasty topping for grilled fish or grilled chicken.  Or use it to finish homemade nachos or tacos.  So many possibilities. 

Choose mangos that are ripe, that have a slightly soft given when you press the skin.  The skin may be green in spots but should also have rosy tones too.  I will say that preparing mangoes can be a bit of chore.  I start by peeling it.  But I've seen some people leave the skin on and then score the fruit and pop it off the skin, like seen here.  I prefer to peel it and then cut it so I can get a nice small even dice, which I like for salsa.  Also, a thin, wide seed runs nearly the length of the mango.  It's not a seed like you find in a peach or plum where you can slice down the middle, twist the fruit and pop it out.  You have to cut around the seed.  I usually start by cutting from top to the bottom on the widest part of the mango.  This is where you'll get the most fruit off in one piece.  Click here to see an example.  Despite the extra effort required to cut a mango, it's absolutely worth a little extra work to make this awesome salsa. 

Enjoy!

Mango Salsa
from Weight Watchers

1 large (or 2 medium) mangoes, finely diced
1 sweet red pepper, finely diced
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1/2 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed and finely minced (for a spicy version, use the whole jalapeno and leave in seeds)
1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, or to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl.  For a less spicy version you can leave out the jalapeno.  I like to make it a few hours before I serve it to allow the flavors to meld together.  Given it a good stir before serving.  Serves 8 people about 1/3 cup of salsa each for 1 Weight Watchers point per serving.