The Great Mango Book

A Guide With Recipes
By Allen Susser (Ten Speed Press)

"Magnificent" would have been a melodious inclusion in this book's title, as in "The Magnificent Mango Book," but this is part of Ten Speed's "Great" series. The trademark tall, lean, beautifully photographed guide fits the bill on either count. And if you have any affinity whatsoever for mangoes—those exotically sweet-tart, tropical delicacies—you'll undoubtedly think so, too.

Your tour guide has, to say the least, an affinity for the succulent fruit. Allen Susser's credentials could have stopped at gourmet chef, owner of Miami's acclaimed Chef Allen's restaurant, and one of the creators of what's now been coined as New World Cuisine. However, Susser is a mango maniac who has had an "affair" with them since college.

"The South Miami neighborhood I lived in was filled with mango trees. As many of the folks from the Islands did, on a hot summer day I would relax under the shade of a mango tree, pluck and taste its fruit. It was pure summer. In the evenings, I often went to a Cuban juice bar in Coconut Grove. My favorite was the frozen mango batido (a mango milkshake): fresh sliced mango, ice and milk, with a touch of honey, all whirled together in a blender. Those batidos were a sweet, lush, cooling pleasure. Little did I realize then how important mangoes would become to me." Susser trades dinner at his exclusive restaurant for wheelbarrows of homegrown mangoes.

That bounty gives him all the more ability to beautifully prepare treats like Thai steak and mango salad; shrimp and mango curry; creole fried chicken with mango; and mango sour cream crumb cake. What is especially impressive about all the delightful recipes is that, although they taste and look exactly as they would in a top gourmet spot like Chef Allen's, they are—due to their exquisitely fresh and fast ingredients—easy to emulate.

RECIPE
—Mango-Braised Drumsticks

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