Once you try this salsa recipe, you will never reach for another jar of store-bought salsa again! It is so fresh and flavourful you will want to eat it by the spoonful!
For most of my childhood, my dad made this delicious salsa and said he never had a recipe for it. You can customize the recipe by switching up a few ingredients depending on what you like, but I wanted to create a basic recipe that is easy to make and can be shared with others. Trust me when I say that this is the best salsa you will ever taste!
This salsa is packed full of vitamins and creates a healthy topping for: fish, tortilla chips, nachos, tacos, and more! But don’t worry, if you’re not a fan of fish, you can always pair it with chicken or keep it vegetarian by adding it to vegetable wraps or eating it as a dip with chips. Mangos, red peppers and basil are all great sources of vitamin C. However, that’s not all this salsa has to offer. It also contains vitamin A, B6, iron, magnesium and calcium.
This recipe is best when eaten fresh but will last in the fridge for three to four days.
So let’s get into the recipe!
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups champagne Mango
½ cup red bell pepper
¼ cup green onion
¼ cup basil
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (If you are planning on eating the mango salsa with chips, I recommend using only two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil)
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Juice of one lime (approximately two tablespoons)
Directions:
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the following ingredients:
Peel and finely dice the champagne mango, ensuring to cut out the pit (I used two mangoes for 1 ½ cup)
Finely dice the red pepper
Finely chop the green onion
Chiffonade the basil (see below for chiffonade instructions)
Add the extra virgin olive oil and lime juice.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Ready to serve!
What is chiffonade? Chiffonade is a french knife technique used to cut or chop delicate leafy greens (basil in this recipe) and get beautiful ribbon-like pieces. It is effortless to do and is much faster than trying to slice each piece of basil. First, you will want to wash your basil leaves and pile them on top of one another, starting with the largest leaf on the bottom and getting smaller and smaller as you stack them (as long as the largest leaf is on the bottom, the rest of the leaves don’t have to be in any particular order). After that, roll the leaves starting from the stem and finish at the leaf’s tip, ensuring to keep it tight. Finally, place the rolled leaves horizontally on your cutting board and slice thinly. You will be left with thin strands of basil that are an excellent size for this salsa recipe but can also be used as a garnish on other dishes such as pasta or a salad.
Substitutions: There are many ways you can customize the mango salsa recipe to cater to you. If you don’t like mangos, you can substitute them for papaya, or if you don’t have a lime, lemon works well. You can add some jalapeno peppers, finely diced, for a bit of spice, or if you prefer a sweeter salsa add strawberries or a teaspoon of honey - both natural sweeteners. This salsa is all about what YOU like!