Give Me Five: Lentil and mango salad

One of my first memories of mangoes was when we visited my sister in Thailand. She bought us all a cup of mango lassi and we jumped in to the back of a tuk-tuk and hurtled through the streets of Bangkok, holding on for dear life while trying to sip the creamy drink.

The lassi was the perfect antidote to the smothering heat of the city. I thought that mango would taste stronger in flavour than it did, more like passion fruit. Instead it was musky and sweet, like nothing I had tasted before. I have been a fan of mango ever since. I always add lime juice to heighten the natural taste of mango; they go great together.

I have made lassi many times at home since. I blitz some very ripe mango, ice, natural yoghurt and lime juice with a little water and cardamom. It is refreshing and makes a lovely breakfast or dessert.

It is a very versatile fruit. I always buy two: one to ripen next to the bananas so it is ready to eat soon, and the other one in the fridge to delay its ripening a little.

Mango is the perfect lunchbox fruit, cut into little cubes or sticks. It travels well. I also freeze it in chunks for adding to smoothies. It gives a lovely slushy effect and pairs well with greens such as kale and spinach, again with a spritz of lime.

Recently I have been making a great curry that uses mango as its base. Fry some ginger, garlic, onion and garam masala, then tip in pureed mango and coconut milk. You can then add chicken, chickpeas, sweet potato or anything you want. It has become a quick midweek supper when I have the all-important perfectly ripe mango to hand.

This salad needs a mango that is ripe but not too soft. You want the cubes of fruit to remain intact but you do not want it crunchy or green. The texture is great with the lentils.

Lentils are a fantastic source of fibre and protein. There is virtually no fat in them, so add a dollop of creamy coconut yoghurt on top of this salad to make it even nicer.

I have dressed it with olive oil here, but avocado oil is lovely with it as well.

Someone tweeted me about avocado oil recently, and I remembered having it a few years ago when one of my sisters was on the Paleo diet (it is one of the recommended Paleo-friendly oils). I just picked an organic, cold-pressed variety up in my local health shop and have been putting it on everything. It has a rich, creamy flavour and is high in monounsaturated fat.

It is perfect for high-temperature cooking but at almost €9 for a little bottle I have been keeping it for salad dressings, where I can really appreciate it.

I have used raw red onion, but if you find that too astringent, sauté it a little in oil first – coconut oil is a nice choice – until it softens and takes on a little colour.

I have this salad on its own but it makes a great accompaniment to grilled fish, chicken or even with a curry as an alternative to rice. Or you could intensify the flavours further by adding ground spices such as cumin, coriander or chilli to the oil and lime dressing.

This salad keeps well for a day or two in the fridge, so is perfect for packed lunches.

LENTIL AND MANGO SALAD: SERVES 4-6

The five ingredients

• 225g uncooked green lentils or 2 tins of cooked lentils
• 1 mango
• 10g coriander
• 1 small red onion
• 1 lime

From the pantry

• 2tbs olive oil
• Sea salt

Method

Place the lentils in a saucepan and cover with water. Simmer until tender. This can take 20-30 minutes. Taste them and make sure they still have a little bite and are not mushy. Or you could use tinned lentils instead.

Once cooked, drain and rinse with cold water. Place in a medium-sized bowl and gently stir through the olive oil and a generous pinch of salt.

Meanwhile peel and cube the mango. Finely dice the onion and chop the coriander.

Once the lentils have cooled, fold though the mango, onion and coriander along with the juice of the lime. Be gentle as you don’t want everything to mash together.

• Every Thursday, we'll tweet the five ingredients from @lillyhiggins and @irishtimeslife so you can have them ready for Friday. Email givemefive@irishtimes.com with your suggestions for recipes