We climb up and pick the ripest ones to eat for breakfast, and then pluck a green one to dip in chili and salt for a little afternoon snack. Giving them away is fruitless (ha!); almost everyone here has their own mango trees in their back yard, and they certainly don't need more. So lots of them just end up falling to the ground to rot.
Last week we finally discovered a use for all our mangoes: cusnaca. Not only does this traditional Nicaraguan dessert use lots of mangoes, it also disguises all of the little worms in the mangoes, so that you would never even know if you ate a worm!
In fact, this very thing happened to us. My friend Maria invited us to her house in the community of Potrerillos last weekend to learn how to make cusnaca. We were so impressed with the results - a deliciously creamy mango pudding - that we went back for seconds. It wasn't until later when our friend Yobania told us that she doesn't make mango cusnaca because you can't really remove the worms from the mangoes that we realized that we had even eaten any worms.
Worms or not, cusnaca is definitely one of the most delicious Nicaraguan desserts I've had. It's the perfect refreshment for a hot afternoon, and the perfect solution to an overstock of mangoes. Here is the recipe that Maria gave us.
Mango Cusnaca
- 12 small mangoes (champagne or honey mangoes work best)
- sugar to taste
- milk for desired consistency
Wash the mangoes and mash them, whole, in a large bowl or bucket with a heavy wooden spoon or mallet, breaking the skins and getting the juices flowing. Let them sit for 15 or 20 minutes and then mash them again. Let them sit a second time. Then add sugar little by little, tasting as you add and mix, until it is as sweet as you want. Finally, add milk a cup at a time to achieve the desired creaminess and thickness. It should end up with a sort of watery pudding texture.
Serve with skins and mango pits; you can eat the skins if you like them.
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