Savory Cold Mango Soup

June 17, 2008, 11:15 am

Recipe of the Day: Savory Cold Mango Soup

By MARK BITTMAN

There are fruit soups that serve as starters and fruit soups that serve as desserts. But by tweaking the sugar content and adding or subtracting a little spice, this mango soup does double duty, serving as either.

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Savory Cold Mango Soup

Yield 4 servings

Time 20 minutes, plus 1 hour for chilling

Mark Bittman

Steve Legato for The New York Times

Summary

If you can find the relatively flat, yellow mangoes, they’re sweeter and less fibrous than those normally sold in supermarkets. But frozen mango pulp works quite well in this soup, and it also eliminates the hassle of removing the flesh from around the pit. There is another alternative, and this is to substitute peach for the mango; it\'s a very close stand-in.

Ingredients

• 4 to 6 ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted and chopped, or 4 cups frozen mango, thawed
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon ancho or other mild chili powder, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves, plus a few sprigs, for garnish, optional

Method

• 1. Purée mango in food processor or blender, adding enough milk to let the machine easily do its work. (Work in batches, if necessary.) Add the remaining milk, the yogurt, coconut milk, chili powder and cayenne, and process until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• 2. Transfer soup to bowl and refrigerate 1 hour. Ladle into bowls, garnish and serve.

Variation

• Sweet Cold Mango Soup: Omit chili powder and cayenne (though a suspicion of chili powder remains a nice touch). Add 3 tablespoons sugar, or to taste, and 3 tablespoons dark rum, or to taste.