I’m in Houston right now, enjoying the sweltering heat and humidity for a few days. I had the pleasure of visiting Aladdin today, and was absolutely blown away by their vegan sampler. There were no fewer than 12 different dishes on my plate, and every one of them was delicious. With fresh mango juice spiked with a little strawberry to drink, and some fresh baked bread on the side, it was absolutely amazing.
Doubles are street food from Trinidad. A double is two puffy, spongy, deep-fried breads, filled with a savory chickpea curry and condiments (red pepper sauce and mango chutney). A double is not particularly healthy, but oh so very delicious.
Doubles were last night’s dinner, thanks to the old standby Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian. I had two, which might mean quadruples.
Summer heat is here to stay! At least for a few more months. Boston has definitely been warm as of late, and a trip to the beach this morning to enjoy the weather inspired tonight’s dinner. Idlewild whipped up a cool-yet-spicy mango cucumber salad, and I baked a loaf of traditional Moroccan bread flavored with anise as a side. Combined with a fruity rum drink, it was just the meal to cap off a hot weekend.
Salad:
2 small tasty yellow mangoes, peeled, diced
1 cucumber, peeled, diced
1/2 serrano pepper, seeded, or to taste
Dressing:
4 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
Juice of two small limes
3-4 tbsp rice wine
3 tsp raw sugar
1-2 tsps salt
Combine dressing ingredients to taste – whisk and taste and adjust as needed for salty/sweet/sour. Pour over mango, cucumber and serrano and refrigerate for ten to twenty minutes.
Serve on bed of mixed greens, dressing the greens with the combined dressing and mango juice from the salad bowl.
