Que Rico!

Some ripe and ready Ataulfo Mangos were the inspiration for Wednesday's culinary endeavors. The morning kicked off with some slices of rustic multigrain bread by way of the Yellow Dog Bakery that we fashioned into a simple pain perdu. Chunked mango was the perfect topping for this already appetizing breakfast. The sweetness of the mango was a good balance to the 'whole-graininess' of the bread.



We spent the early afternoon at the Downtown Raleigh Farmers Market where creativity would eventually manifest itself into the idea for that afternoon's comida.



It was the red potatoes from Amanda at Jackson Farm in particular that acted as the impetus behind the tortilla española we fashioned for lunch. This was a dish I had been longing to recreate ever since spending a summer in Spain.

It went a little something like this:
-4 eggs
-3 small sliced red potatoes (carefully placed at the bottom of the skillet after being lightly precooked in grapeseed oil, salt and pepper)
-3 cloves of garlic
-1 diced Spicy Italian Sausage (from Coon Rock Farm)
-1 sliced green onion stem
-chopped basil and rosemary (from our garden!)
-salt and pepper

and finally, top the whole mixture in the skillet with some chunks of honey goat cheese...



There are just times when your love for a specific dish, the flavors of the ingredients and the care that went into preparing it all come together into one transcendent food experience. This was one of those. And I have to say...it was well worth the wait.



The evening's dinner would build upon the Latin theme introduced in the afternoon with the creation of a dish rarely if ever seen in kitchens across the world. We call it...Manguac (pronunciation: Main-gwak). Essentially we contributed chunks of the last Ataulfo Mango to a fairly traditional guacamole recipe. This recipe consisted of a mixture of:

-2 ripe avocados
-fresh cilantro (purchased from our friend Ben of Farm Front Gardens at the Downtown Raleigh Farmers Market)
-lime juice
-Sriracha
-rice vinegar
-salt

And of course to put the Mang in Manguac...a diced mango. Amanda quickly whipped up some small flour tortas with which to taste the Manguac. It was amazing how much just a simple mango in the guacamole changed the taste structure of this delicious bright green dip.



Do note that the fructose from the mangos will give this dish a real sweetness so an acid and/or salt will best serve to balance this. So go ahead...try out our newest creation or better yet, whip up your own version that aims to satisfy your own favorite food passions!

Hasta pronto!