What to do with new season mangoes

There’s nothing quite like tasting your first mango of the year and knowing that summer is most definitely on its way. Kensington Pride mangoes are the first variety to hit stores and are available in your local Woolworths supermarket now.

While mangoes are pretty darn great served au naturel – with a paper towel for dealing with the inevitable juice dripping – there are so many delicious ways to eat them at all stages of ripeness.

South-East Asian cuisines like Thai and Lao are known for using green mangoes in refreshingly spicy salads (are you a one, two or three chilli type) that are the perfect accompaniment to barbecued meats and fish. Slightly riper mangoes are a popular Thai street snack where slices are served with a small sachet of finely chopped birds eye chilli, salt and sugar – which is easy to replicate at home if you’re a fan of sweet/salty flavours.

Perfectly ripe mangoes can be used for a multitude of both savoury and sweet dishes. A spicy mango salsa on top of a platter of grilled prawns is a great party dish. Or double down on tropical flavours with this pork, mango and pineapple salad. If you’d like to keep things sweet for your ripe mango try these luscious tarts that include mango in the filling as well as artfully draped on top. And of course, there’s no easier summer entertaining dessert than a pavlova topped with lashings of cream, fresh mango and passionfruit.

But what if some of your mangoes got away from you and a little soft for straight up eating? No dramas, there’s still plenty you can do with them. If you’re not going to eat them now, remove the flesh from the cheeks and stone and process until smooth in a blender. Pour into an ice-cube tray or measure ¼ cup portions into ziplock bags and freeze for future use in smoothies and desserts that call for pureed mango. Extra ripe mangoes are also great for using to cook up a batch of mango chutney – perfect timing for Christmas gifts too.

This article originally appeared on Foodiful.