Mango, Avocado, and Goat Cheese Salad
Sweet, bitter, sour, creamy, crunchy, and juicy 💦 are some of the flavors and textures you’ll bite into in this fresh 🥗 salad. I had to post this while it’s still (Ataulfo and Alphonso) mango season! This salad led me to a rather interesting discovery about mangoes. You can find the recipe here: or by clicking on this pic at the link in my bio.
When we lived in the US, there used to be a short season from about April to mid May where we would get the MOST delicious little yellow/orange mangos. I would stock up and we would eat tons until this short season abruptly ended and left us pining for more. I remembered them being called “something with an A” mangoes. Cut to about 3 weeks ago when my Indian friends started RAVING about the fabulous mangos that are in season now and imported from India, called Alphonso mangoes. Assuming those were the mangoes I used to buy in the US, I excitedly bought a few boxes from the Indian delivery grocer, and several days later they arrived at my doorstep. They looked the same but when we cut one open, to our disappointment we find out these tasted different -a bit sweeter and slightly less firm than the mangoes we remembered from the US. I couldn’t figure out why. Were they more ripe? Was it because they were grown in different soil? (Why don’t I just google these things instead of letting them take up valuable space in my brain for weeks!!) Finally with this still churning in the back of my mind, I had an epiphany and I realized that the ones we were getting in the US came from MEXICO, but I actually didn’t realize that it was 2 different varieties until I started writing this post. Another expat food mystery: SOLVED! Interesting side note: There was actually a ban on the Indian Alphonso mangoes in the US until an Indian dentist living in PA lobbied for years to get them in. There are still not many imported each year, and when a shipment does get to the US, apparently they sell out within a day. It seems that these Alphonso mangoes are the gold standard of mangoes (but my family actually prefers the more tart taste of the Ataulfo mangoes).
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Mango, Avocado, and Goat Cheese Salad
Description
The 3 main elements of this salad are mango, avocado and goat cheese. After that, you can kind of wing it. I highly recommend endive, chicory, radicchio, or some other bitter lettuce. Mine also had fresh peas, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, pomegranate seeds, radishes, and some fresh mint. If you’re looking to add a protein, just add some shrimp or chicken. I put a white wine vinaigrette on it. This dressing is pretty basic but super versatile, so be sure to make a double batch!
Ingredients
White Wine Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustart
- 1 teaspoon honey
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Place all ingredients in a container with a tight-fitting lid. Place the lid on tightly, and shake vigorously until ingredients are well combined.