Sunday, May 31, 2009

Mango and Chili Salsa and My Thoughts on Cuisinart's Smart Stick


I have mentioned, a few times now, the new Cuisinart Smart Stick which my mom gave me when I was home in April. I used it to puree the fruit for my ice cream, and to whip up a hummus last Sunday. Last night I used it to make an AMAZING Mango and Chili Salsa, and was really impressed with the chopping capability of this hand held appliance. I admit to some trepidation and foresaw a Mango and Chili smoothie rather then the consistency that I needed for my salsa. But, Cuisinart pulled threw and true to the adverts word, I ended up with some nicely chopped veg for my recipe - which, if I were writing a cookbook, would feature FOR SURE.

We had the salsa with tofu sandwiches, which I think was inspired from my recent readings of PinkHairedGirl . Our sandwiches were super basic - grilled tofu, avocado slices and the salsa on a multi-grain baguette. K also broiled some sweet potatoes and made a nice tomato salad with some mint and olive oil.



Here is the salsa recipe - enjoy!

Mango and Chili Salsa
1/2 ripe mango - peeled
1/2 green chili - seeds removed
1 - 2 cloves of garlic
5 spring onions
1/2 cucumber

1 handful of cilantro
lemon juice to taste
pepper to taste

Into the SmartStick I added the mango, chili and garlic and cucumber first. I transferred this batch to a bowl and then chopped the rest of the ingredients. When I combined both batches of chopped goodness I gave it a quick stir. Dead simple and super yummy. It would have also been tasty in burritos or all by itself. Ours was a little spicy - we like it hot - so if you wanted to go for a smaller chunk of chili I don't think it would augment the flavour too much.

But all recipe writing aside - if you are looking for a kitchen appliance that is versatile, smart and easily stored then I would strongly recommend picking up your own SmartStick. It is like have a food processor without a commitment to counterspace! (and cuisinart didn't even pay me to say this!)

14 comments:

Pearl said...

yum that looks delicious! and there's nothing EVER wrong with adding appliances to one's collection!

Lisa said...

I love the colors in your salsa!

Anonymous said...

Simple sandwiches are oftentimes the best and that tofu sandwich looks awesome

veggievixen said...

delicious! i have yet to see the product you are talking about but it sounds amazing! able to chop and/or puree?? wow.

great salsa. and i cannot wait to grill some tofu!

Macie said...

I have only recently discovered salsa that involves mangos. It's a great thing! I'll have to give your recipe a go.

Cyn said...

Yay for tofu sandwiches! I had one for dinner yesterday with leftover grilled tofu and pickled beets, and it was awesome.

I have a similar immersion blender that I love for blending up soups and sauces - it's so easy.

Johanna GGG said...

That salsa looks excellent and such a cool green - I love my stick blender and wish I had a little chopper attachment too!

Mihl said...

You know what? That sounds like the perfect salsa!

Lauren said...

Avocado and Tofu are my favorite sandwich combo! YUM!

Anonymous said...

yum! i love mango salsa! it's so perfect for summer meals.

dreaminitvegan said...

What a great salsa!

Sal - AlienOnToast said...

mmm sounds good. i just bought a massive mango too!

Anonymous said...

I love unsollicited reviews - they are the most useful to me! I got so excited when I saw you in my reader...I thought, baby?

jessy said...

i may have to look into that smart stick – that’s just too awesome! i too would have thought it would have made for some blended salsa, but that’s great that it chopped it up perfectly. :) hooray for some tofu sammies and a suuuuuuuper tasty mango & chili salsa – totally gonna have to try the salsa! oh my gosh, it sounds so good!