Who could resist buying mangoes at the marché, if only to try this slicing technique?
If you're clumsy cutting mangoes, then this simple slicing method I learned from a
marchande de fruits at the Sunday morning market is for you. With a serrated knife and the mango's broad side placed perpendular to the cutting board, slice off a large section of each side. The large flat seed of the mango remains in the mid-section. Score the two pieces with criss-cross cuts, being careful not to slice through to the skin--the mango's or yours. From the skin side, push the mango open and out. You can then shave off the cubes for use in salads, chutneys or salsas, or simply place the
mangue en hérisson on a dessert plate to be eaten with fork and knife. The delicious flesh remaining around the mango seed (the best part) is usually reserved for eating over the kitchen sink...
 |
Place mango in this position and visually divide
into three sections, the mid-section being
narrow, and slice.
|
Vocabulary
Marché: market
Mangue: mango
Marchand(e) de fruit: fruit merchant or vendor
Hérisson: hedgehog
En un tour de main: in an instant
Text & photos ©2011 P.B. Lecron
