Mango Slaw

I realize it may not be summer where you are, but over here, summer started a while ago. This dish, from Smitten Kitchen, is particularly well-suited to hot weather; it is light and refreshing, and very good. You can easily make it without nuts, though I do recommend using the fresh mint. I only used half a head of cabbage, because my bowl wasn’t big enough for all of it, and I only had ¼ of a red onion, but the proportions here are pretty forgiving. For the oil, I used a mix of sesame seed oil and grapeseed oil; I used just a pinch of pepper flakes, but you could use more if you want. I also like the fact that this recipe works well with firm mangoes and with ripe ones. A firmer one holds up best when julienned with the mandoline, but regardless of what variety of mango you have and of how ripe it is, this slaw will be very good.

2 mangoes, peeled, pitted and julienned
1 to 1 ¼ lbs Napa cabbage, halved and sliced very thinly
1 red pepper, julienned
½ red onion, thinly sliced
6 Tbsp of fresh lime juice, from about two limes
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 Tbsp oil of your choice (I recommend some sesame seed oil in there)
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste (or omit this and whisk in a chile paste to taste)
¼ cup thinly sliced fresh mint leaves
¼ cup toasted cashews, coarsely chopped (you can omit them if you want)

Toss mangoes, cabbage, pepper and onion in a large bowl. Whisk lime juice, vinegar, oil, salt and red pepper in a smaller bowl and pour over slaw. You can either serve this immediately or leave the flavors to muddle for an hour in the fridge. Before serving, toss with mint leaves and sprinkle with cashews.