Tuna Pasta with Malunggay

A while back, I wrote about malunggay. What I forgot to mention was that malunggay has such a neutral taste that you add it to almost anything. This is great when all you need if just some green to brighten your dish. This was exactly what I needed with my tuna pasta. It also one of the many ways one can add a bit more vegetable to your pasta.

Tuna Pasta with Malunggay

500g spaghetti, cooked according to package direction and drained

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 small red onion, chopped

1 180g can of tuna (in either vegetable oil or water), drained

1 cup heavy cream

50ml evaporated milk 

1 chicken bouillon cube (optional)

1/2 cup malunggay leaves

salt and pepper, to taste

In a saute pan, saute the garlic until golden brown then add the onion. Cook until the onion is translucent. Add the tuna and mix until the tuna has broken down into smaller pieces. Add the cream and the evaporated milk. You may add the bouillon cube at this point. If the sauce gets too thick, you may add some water. Add the malunggay leaves and bring to a gentle boil. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for a few minutes before adding the pasta. Stir until the pasta is thoroughly coated with the sauce. Serve and enjoy.

Mango Salsa

Mango Salsa. It's probably my favorite salad. Normally we'd only use green mangoes, but this time, though, we decided to add ripe mangoes to the mix as well. The result was a slightly sour salad with a dash of refreshingly sweet and juicy mangoes. It's a perfect side dish for many things, including creamy tuna pasta. But my ultimate favorite is when it is served with crispy fried milk fish and rice. 

Mango Salsa

1 unripe green mango, diced

1 ripe mango, cubed

1 small red onion, diced

1 tomato, diced

1 tablespoon sugar

salt, to taste

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Allow it to sit in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Green Mango Smoothies

It's summer time again! Or at least it is in South East Asia, where there's only 2 seasons and 2 types of weather: rainy and sunny. Anyway, summertime always signaled the start of mango season. Mango is the ultimate summer fruit, and it's also the ingredient of my favorite summer cooler: Mango smoothie.

Now, there's several ways to go about it. You can use ripe mangoes, but I've always found that unripe green mangoes resulted in a far more refreshing drink. Maybe it's got something to do with it being sour. Anyway, I've got two versions of the Green Mango Smoothie. One is our regular smoothie and the other was an unexpected discovery.

Green Mango Smoothie (regular)

Ice (usually one ice tray)

Green Mangoes (2-3 mangoes are ideal, but 1 will also do)

1 cup water plus more if needed

Sugar to taste

Peel the green mangoes and cut it up into smaller pieces. Place ice in the blender. Pulse until the ice looks like shaved ice. Add the green mangoes and pulse until pureed. Add the water and the sugar. I usually add 2-3 tablespoons of sugar, depending on how sour the mangoes are. Pulse again until everything has a smoothie texture. Pour into glasses and serve.

The second recipe was discovered purely by accident. My mom had made green mango salsa a week ago. Green mango salsa is basically a mixture of diced green mangoes, onions and tomatoes with a little salt. Unfortunately my mom's green mango back then was really really sour. We could take a bit of it without making the funny sour face. When I told my mom that I'd like to try making green mango smoothies one day, she suddenly had the idea of turning our inedible sour salsa into a smoothie. Yes, we gave her our best reluctant look, but as it turned out, with a little sugar, it tasted quite fine. So, here's our recipe for it:

Green Mango Salsa Smoothie

Ice (one tray)

Green Mangoes (2-3 mangoes are ideal)

1 tomato, chopped

1 small red onion, chopped

1 cup water plus more

Sugar to taste

Peel and slice the green mangoes into small pieces. In a blender, add the ice and pulse until it becomes shaved ice. Add the green mangoes, tomato and onion. Blend until pureed. Add water (add more if needed) and the sugar (again, 2-3 tablespoons, depending on taste). Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.

My best tip for making green mango smoothies is to taste and taste again until you think it tastes great. Also, I understand some people prefer smoothies where you can still feel the bits and pieces of mangoes. Remember, it's all up to you how smooth you want it. Finally, you can use simple syrup instead of sugar, if you want. Enjoy!