Cajun Chicken with Mango and Avocado Salsa

Last week I was fortunate enough to make it to the book festival in Brisbane...making a bee line to the cooking section as soon as quickly as my legs could carry me. Okay, well, maybe after ploughing through the literature section. I came across some great cookbooks printed in the 1980's and have been browsing them now at my leisure in the comfort of my humble abode. AHHH!
How incredible the pictures are. The colours used, the ingredients used, the lighting, the workmanship, the presentation. Everything has, I have to say with relief, changed in the cook-book world for the better.
I was startled by the way every dessert was covered in fresh or baked fruit, jellies and mousses where created from prunes and other fruits not particularly known for their appeal.
I am a very visual person, the pictures are what always grab my attention first and foremost. Give me modern cookbooks any day! There are some wonderful recipes in these books I collected, I might add. We just have to adapt them, give them a modern twist...don't worry, I'll pull the pineapple rings and prunes off the cupcakes and top them with a sole blueberry and some sugar dusting with a tendril of lime zest arching around that little dot of fruit. I just inspired myself. Look out for those cupcakes!
And now...for something completely different...
My husband made an incredible dinner and I just have to share it.
So simple.
So delicious.
So gourmet!
This one is for you Suzanne. Easy enough to cook blindfolded!

CAJUN CHICKEN WITH MANGO AVOCADO SALSA
Adapted from recipe from Taste.com

4 large chicken breast fillets
2 tbs vegetable oil
2 tsp sal1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp. french onion soup powder mix (or dried onion flakes)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Rocket leaves to serve


MANGO SALSA
1 ripe mango
1 avocado, halved, stone removed, peeled, finely chopped
1 red capsicum, halved, de-seeded, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 tbs fresh lime juice
1 tbs finely shredded fresh mint
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Combine oil, salt, garlic and onion powders, oregano, thyme, paprika, cayenne and black pepper in a large bowl. Add chicken and turn to coat.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Cook chicken for 5 minutes each side. Transfer to a plate. Cover loosely with foil and set aside.
Meanwhile, to make salsa, cut mango cheeks close to seed and peel away skin. Finely chop. Combine in a bowl with avocado, capsicum, onion, lime juice and mint. Season with salt and pepper. Serve chicken with salsa and rocket leaves.

Mango Mania

As the "silly season" approaches, an even sillier one begins for me. Summer= mango mania.
One of the wonderful things about living in a more tropical climate is the amazing exotic fruits you can get for a pittance. Well...the comparison astounds me. In  Melbourne you can get a single mango for $3.00 AU whereas  here in Brisbane  we recently bought two mangoes for 0.99c--it just blows the mind! (okay I admit that was a total find, even up here) So I go a little crazy when they come into season.
Mangoes can be messy to use though, and I have seen many a good mango go to waste due to not knowing the best way to take the fruit from the peel and seed. If mangoes are expensive where you are, you want to make sure you get the most you can out of your mango.
The best method is to find the direction of the seed and cut down the flat side, sheer with the seed. You can make a few slices in the flesh down to the peel and then a few more in the opposite direction so you have a diced effect. This way, you can "pop" the fruit towards you. You can also use a knife to scrape along the peel to cut the squares off. Alternately, you can cut the peel off before slashing the flesh and get mango cheeks, as they call them. I like to freeze these mango pieces, all ready for use in smoothies and desserts.

This recipe was actually made by accident--as lots of  great inventions are. It was initially meant to be a smoothy and it would have been if I had thinned it out with more liquid. But on tasting it, I decided to keep it as is. Too delicious to change!! It has the thickness of custard, and is ever so refreshing! I can also imagine this dolloped onto a baked cheesecake in summer....mmmmh!

MANGO MANIA

1/2 cup vanilla yoghurt
1 cup milk
1-2 mangoes, peeled, seeded and diced
1/2 cup ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and add milk until desired thickness is achieved. Serve immediately. Serves 2.