Tomato-and-Mango Salad with Curry-Orange Vinaigrette

You can let the produce do pretty much all the talking in this vibrant summer salad. This isn't the time to buy dull hothouse tomatoes or unripe mangoes - pick the very best of each you can find.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh-squeezed orange juice
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 medium tomatoes (about 1 and 1/2 pounds)
• 2 medium mangoes (about 2 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced mint

1. Place the orange juice in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook anywhere from 25 to 50 minutes, until reduced to 1/2 cup. You'll know it's done when it becomes syrupy and thick.

2. Remove from heat and stir in the canola oil, curry powder, and salt.  Cool to room temperature.

3. To plate the salad, core the tomatoes and cut into 3/4-inch thick wedges.  Peel the mangoes, pit, and cut into 1/2-inch thick strips.  Divide the tomato and mango evenly among 6 salad plates.

4. Drizzle evenly with the dressing (about a tablespoon and a half per serving) and sprinkle with the mint.

Note: Pitting a mango perplexed me until I learned the pit is oblong, rather than round in the center like in peaches or plums. Cut the flesh away from the pit on either side, as shown, then cut into strips for the salad.

Nutrition Info:
6 servings (1 portion), Calories 181

Tasting Notes:
Tomatoes and mango, who knew? I can't think of any better way to express it except somehow the mango made the tomato taste tomato-ier, and the tomato enhanced the sweetness of the mango, for an exceptional and striking combination. The juice in the dressing condenses until thick and syrupy, for great sweet flavor accented by the toasty curry. A little nip of the dressing off a spoon made me think of dessert in an Indian restaurant, or the saffron-flavored kulfi I once veganized at home. Perfect for a summer afternoon or evening.

Rating:
3.5