Mango Salsa & Tortilla Chips

Last semester I taught nutrition to children in the Bronx through City Harvest in a program called "Side by Side" where the children would learn along side their parents some nutrition and how to cook in a healthy fashion. One of my favorite recipes was a healthy snack- mango salsa with fresh tortilla chips. It is the perfect mix of crunchy, sweet and salty to fulfill all those snack cravings. I made the mango salsa to pair with the almond-crusted tilapia, so as far at the salsa goes...it has a variety of uses. With the tortilla chips, it is easy to play around and get creative- I made two different versions a cayenne version and a parmesan version. Hungry yet? Let's get this party started.

Ingredients:

For the chips:

6 corn tortillas

salt, pepper, & cayenne pepper -or- salt, pepper, grated parmesan

For the salsa:

2 ripe mangoes

1 jalapeno

1 cucumber

1/2 red onion (or 2 scallions)

1 lime

1 lemon

1/2 tsp. salt

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Procedure:

For the chips:

Preheat the oven to 425. Cut corn tortillas in half, half again and then half again to get a total of 8 chips per tortilla. Spread the tortila chips onto a greased baking tray, spray the chips with the seasoning selection of your choice Sprinkly either salt, pepper, & cayenne pepper -or- salt, pepper, & grated Parmesan. Shake up the tray a bit to disperse ingredients evenly on both sides. Bake for about 10 minutes or until browned and crispy.

For the salsa:

Peel and cut mangoes from their pits, cut mango into small cubes. Cut cucumber in half, remove the seeds, then proceed to cut into small cubes. Cut the jalapeno in half, remove most of the seeds (leave some if you'd like some extra spice) and continue to cut into small pieces. Dice the red onion. Rinse the cilantro well and fine chop. Mix all of these chopped ingredients into a bowl. Add salt and cayenne pepper.

Roll the lemon and lime out on a counter to get the juices flowing (even fruits need a little foreplay) and then cut them each in half. Squeeze juices on top of the mango mixture. Mix well. *Helpful tip- to avoid the having lemon pits as bonus ingredients hold the lemon face up towards your palm and squeeze. Yeah, your hands will get a little lemony but its better then choking on lemon pits. Capish?

Cover and refrigerate the salsa for an hour before serve time to allow a proper blending of flavors. Serves 6. Enjoy!