Beat the heat with this Plum & Mango Salad, an incredibly nutritious and super refreshing summer treat you simply can’t get enough of! ❤
I commit to the seasons. When it’s winter, I pig out on sumptuous meals like Roast Chicken, warm ooey gooey desserts like Sticky Date Pudding, load up on holiday treats and take comfort in the aroma of buttery baked goodies, like this Caramel Apple Pie. But then the summer comes lashing in and all I want is fruit and freshness and anything ice cool! And this is why I cannot resist stocking up on beautiful plump fruits when I go on my grocery run.
Now that we’re shopping for weeks at a time, I find myself going a little fruit crazy – mangoes (I did a whole mango recipe series, go check it out!), oranges, plums, grapes, berries, apples and watermelon, you name it, it’s in my shopping cart. And a few days on, I get a little flustered, worrying about the fruits wasting away in the refrigerator since we’ve got only two tummies to fill at home. If you’re like me, and you find that you’re worried about fruits going bad, I tell you – put them in a salad. This is a serious game changer!
This recipe serves two. Here’s what you need:
- Romaine Lettuce – 4-5 leaves, roughly torn
- Baby Spinach – a large handful, roughly torn
- Cucumber – 1 large, sliced
- Mango – 1, cubed
- Plums – 2, deseeded and sliced
- Fresh Mint Leaves – for garnish
- Toasted Pine Nuts – 3 tbsp
- Dijon Mustard – 1 tbsp
- Honey – 2 tbsp
- Juice of 1 Lemon, freshly squeezed
- Olive Oil – 1 tbsp (optional)
- Salt, to taste
- Ground Black Pepper, to taste
Here’s how to rustle up this Plum & Mango Salad:
- In a small bowl, mix dijon mustard, honey, lemon juice and olive oil (if using). Stir and give it a taste, adjust the sweetness if you find the dijon mustard too overpowering.
- Get all your veggies – romaine lettuce, baby spinach and cucumber – and your fruits – mango and plums – and toss them together in a large bowl. Tip in the pine nuts and pour in the dressing. Season with salt and pepper, then taste to ensure the flavours work for you. Adjust sweetness, tangyness and peppery notes according to your liking, then garnish with fresh mint and serve chilled.
TIPS:
- This dijon mustard-honey dressing is my go-to and works with most salad veggies and fruits.
- Don’t be afraid to experiment. If you don’t have mangoes and plums on hand, try berries, orange segments, chopped apples, cherries, grilled peaches, the sky is the limit!
- As for the greens, you can add rocket, mixed greens, lollo rosso, iceberg lettuce…any greens you love.
Amped up with a honey-dijon mustard dressing, this summer salad has won over my non-salad-loving husband and will have the same effect on your loved ones as well. The crunch of the lettuce, the earthiness of the baby spinach, the tangy hints of plums and the tropical sweetness of mangoes…all come together in one blissful bowl! Trust me, this is a great way to get the little ones to eat their veggies too! Not only are the myriad of colours in the bowl appetizing, the juicy sweetness of the fruits will have it feel like a natural dessert!
I hope this Plum & Mango Salad brings you a splash of colour during these bleak times and gets you inspired for your next cooking adventure. And if cooking is just too much for you right now, make this salad! It takes minutes to put together, will use up those fresh veggies and fruits sitting in the fridge and will make for one super nutritious, hearty meal!
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Hey there! I’m writing this tiny note to wish you well during this COVID-19 crisis. We at The Foodscape team want to thank all the health workers who have been giving their everything to nurse us back to health. And for the rest of our readers, I hope you all are staying indoors as much as possible and practicing social distancing. Take care, stay safe and protect your loved ones. Lots of love, Winola ❤
The Foodscape 