A nice bright salsa to end the summer (never mind it’s been over for a month). This recipe is very simple, and I love the way the flavors and textures work together.

I like to serve this with homemade tortillas (or rice or quinoa), avocados, and roasted kabocha tossed with cumin and cayenne.

Japan notes: if you can’t get fresh cilantro, add a little ground coriander to round out the flavor; start with 1/4 tsp and add to taste. It’s not the same, but I do like the flavor it adds better than dried cilantro. For the pepper, use an dried or fresh chili pepper (akatôgarashi, 赤唐辛子).

Gluten free and vegan! Serves ~4~6 as a component of a taco or ~2-4 as an appetizer with chips

Fresh Mango Salsa

Ingredients

~900 g ripe mango (2-3 mangos) (mangô, マンゴー)
100 grams sweet white onion (1/2 onion) (tamanegi, 玉ねぎ)
100 grams red bell pepper (1/2 pepper) (aka pîman, 赤ピーマン)
20 g (1 handful) cilantro  (kousai, 香菜; shantsuai, シャンツァイ;pakuchii, パクチー; koriandaa, コリアンダー)
juice of 1/2 lemon (remon, レモン) or lime (raimu, ライム)
salt and pepper to taste (shio, 塩; koshô, 胡椒)

Procedure

1. Dice the mango, onion, and red pepper and toss together in a bowl.
2. Carefully deseed and mince jalapeño; add to bowl. Be sure to wash your hands, knife, and cutting board.
3. Add chopped cilantro, lime or lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well.
4. Serve room temperature or chilled. Store in refrigerator; keeps 4-5 days.

This might be the shortest entry here. I’m rather exhausted at the moment.