Mango and coconut rice salad

By Birgitta

Consider yourself lucky - you've actually got two recipes here. It all depends on the type of mango you use: a green or under-ripe mango will result in a fresh and sharper-tasting salad with Thai flavours, whereas if you go for a sweet variety, such as the prized Alphonso, now reaching the end of its season, you are in for a richer experience. Flaked coconut is available online from juliangraves.com.

Yotam Ottolenghi

Ingredients

• 100 g jasmine (or basmati) rice
• 1 tsp unsalted butter
• Salt
• 130 ml water
• 20 g Thai basil
• 150 g Camargue red rice
• 1 red pepper, cored and thinly sliced
• 10 g mint leaves, roughly chopped
• 10 g coriander leaves,
• roughly chopped
• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• Grated zest of 1 lemon, and possibly some of the juice
• 1 large mango or 2 smaller ones, cut roughly into 2cm dice
• 60 g roasted salted peanuts, broken roughly
• 50 g flaked coconut
• 2 tbsp groundnut oil
• 25 g deep-fried sliced shallots, homemade or bought in (optional)

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from guardian.co.uk

Preparation

Step 1

Put the jasmine rice and butter in a small saucepan and place over a medium heat. Add a biggish pinch of salt, the water and half the Thai basil (keep the leaves attached to the stem), and bring to a boil. Cover and cook at a slow simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove and discard the basil, then spread the rice on a tray to cool down.

Boil the red rice in plenty of water (as you would cook pasta but with no salt) and simmer for 20 minutes, until cooked through. Drain and spread on a tray to cool down.

Pick the remaining basil leaves and roughly chop them up. Put in a large bowl, add all the remaining ingredients other than the shallots, and mix - do not stir too much or the mango will disintegrate. Taste and adjust the seasoning - you may want to add lemon juice, depending on your taste and the acidity of the mango. Transfer the salad into serving bowls and garnish with deep-fried shallots, if you like.