For a fresh and delectable mango pud, here are the ingredients for 8 diners:
- 4 mangoes
- 2 or 3 large spanspek
- 1l plain yoghurt
- 1l cream
- The zest of four lemons
- 30ml vanilla essence
- Sticky brown caramel sugar
- A couple sprigs of parsley, majoram, thyme and sage
Ensure the fruits are ripe and chilled. Prepare the peeled and de-pipped mangoes and spanspek by cutting them into thick longitudinal slices. Whip the cream. To do this best I use a ball whisk attached to a hand-held blender. The plan behind cream whipping is to transform it into a stiff, non-liquid mass but not to go over the top and turn it into butter. Add the vanilla essence to the yoghurt and stir well to evenly distribute the flavour.
Arrange a couple of chilled slices of mango and spanspek on each dessert plate. Spoon whipped cream over the fruit then pour over some of the vanilla-enhanced plain yoghurt. Sprinkle a tablespoon or so of sticky brown caramel sugar over the arrangement.
Now for the zesting business. The zest is the outer layer of the lemon and not the entire skin. The best way to obtain the zest is with a patented zesting tool which removes the zest in thin strips and in the hands of novice zesters, quite a bit of human knuckle skin as well. Alternatively, with a bit of focus and care, the little blade on an expertly wielded Swiss Army Knife does the same thing.
Once you’ve got the zest, either arrange it in a neat green pile on the side of each plate or sprinkle it over the top. Enjoy.
