Chicken-Mango Salad

Have you ever opened your refrigerator to make dinner and found nothing but odd combinations of seemingly unrelated food? Perhaps an onion, half a bottle of caramel sauce, and miso paste; hmmm. To quote the Cake Boss: “Not for nuttun’, but waddya gonna do?”

In my recent foray into the realm of “make something out of nothing” I came up with this rather tasty chicken-mango salad. I know mangoes are not normally found lying about most American kitchens, but now is the time to indulge in this fruit because it is in-season and inexpensive. Select a variety of soft and firm mangoes so you can eat sweet mangoes today and have them ripen as you want them. If you are not a mango lover, which, incidentally, is the most widely eaten fruit in the world, you will be a fan after tasting the sweet, juicy, piney, peachy flesh. If you thought the prize went to bananas and apples for highest consumption, you need only to look a little further South towards the equator where human populations are dense and mango trees flourish.

This salad can be served on toast and over a bed of lettuce equally well.

Chicken Mango Salad

Serves 6 as an entree

If the prospect of separating the mango pulp from the skin and pit seems daunting, read the tip below.

2 (14.4 ounce) cans chicken chunks, drained (reserve broth for another use)

2 ribs celery, finely diced

1/2 small Persian cucumber, finely diced

1/4 red onion, finely diced

1 mango, finely diced

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 big glob mayo (about 1 cup)

salt and pepper

generous dash lemon pepper, or zest of 1/2 lemon

garnish with salted nuts and crushed tortilla chips

In a large bowl mix all ingredients well and adjust salt and pepper for seasoning. Serve over lettuce or on toasted bread.

*To dice a mango run a knife all the way through the middle (top to bottom/North to South) along one plane of the flat pit. Hold mango half without pit in palm of hand and score down to the skin in narrow slits. Rotate and again score crosswise down to the skin. Invert mango so flesh pops out toward you. Run a knife along the base by the skin to release attached pieces. Repeat with other half.

Ganache that’s good…

One question I am frequently asked: what is ganache? This topic may come up with great regularity because I obsessively talk about the decadently-rich chocolate confection. But, regardless of the source of the prompt, I am happy to elaborate on one of nature’s more perfect luxuries. Ganache is a combination of semi-sweet or dark chocolate (not milk chocolate) and cream, melted together in varying proportions. Equal parts chocolate-to-cream results in a mixture that, when cooled, thickens to a firm fudgy consistency. Use more cream, and it sets up softer, almost a sauce. Ganache is the stuff frequently found in the middle of a chocolate truffle. Or, as I like to call it: breakfast.

Ganache is used in more than just candy centers. When warm and liquid it can be poured over baked goods and then sets up to create a chocolate glaze. It can be allowed to stiffen and then formed into shapes as a decorative accent. Another innovation is to allow ganache to set up in the refrigerator until firm but pliable, and then whip it in a standing mixture until light and fluffy—to spread like frosting on cake and cupcakes. Add a spoonful of light corn syrup to melted ganache and it will stay soft and pliable, rather than setting up firm like chocolate bark.

However, my favorite use for ganache is to drizzle warm mixtures over vanilla bean ice cream. It hardens against the frozen cream and the texture explosion in my mouth is fantastic. Cold ice cream melts on my tongue in tandem with the buttery-tasting chocolate ganache. First, vanilla cream, then chocolate cream. Oi Veh! I need oxygen.

Use only good quality chocolate and cream because you will taste them both, unadorned, in ganache. I like any good bar chocolate: Amano, Lindt, Trader Joes, Guittard, Cadbury, Ghiradelli, Cote d’Or, etc. Use chocolate chips when in a pinch, but try to keep a great bar of chocolate on hand for a ganache emergency. Whether you actually use it for ganache or not, you will be prepared for the end of the world, because we all know chocolate will become the new currency.

The following recipe features a chocolate ganache glaze over zucchini brownies.

Zucchini-Walnut Brownies

With Ganache Glaze

Makes one 9 x 13 pan

(From Miracle Pill 10 Truths to Healthy, Thin, & Sexy, by Tres Prier Hatch)

No one in my family suspects zucchini is hidden inside these moist brownies. They are nice and chocolaty, but not overwhelmingly rich. Try using light olive oil instead of canola or cooking oil. By my estimation, with zucchini, nuts, dark chocolate and olive oil they are practically health food.

2 cups zucchini, finely grated

½ cup oil

1 ½ cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups flour

¼ cup cocoa

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

6-ounces good quality dark chocolate

½ cup cream

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. In a large bowl mix zucchini, oil, sugar and vanilla. In a medium bowl whisk together dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet mixture. Gently stir in nuts. Mix until just combined. Spray a 9 x 13-inch pan with cooking spray. Spread batter into pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Cool.

In a small bowl set over (not in) simmering water, melt chocolate and cream together, stirring frequently. Add more cream if mixture is quite thick. Pour melted ganache over brownies and use an offset spatula to spread to edges of pan. Refrigerate to set icing. Cut into squares and serve. For perfect slices, dip knife in hot water and wipe dry before cutting each slice.

Tres Hatch is the author of: Miracle Pill 10 Truths to Healthy, Thin, & Sexy. She eats chocolate every day.