Mangoes + white chocolate

I miss Philippine mangoes most of all here in the Caribbean. Nothing says you’re on an island more than eating a ripe mango.

Ripe Philippine mangoes – luscious and sweet. And this was off mango season…

Of course mangoes do exist in the Caribbean. They are ok (with all due respect to our suppliers) but the ones readily available to the public can either be very fibrous or very bland. The small ones are the ones that are fibrous when ripe, but they are also very sweet. The giant ones are the ones that are bland but they are quite good when unripe and pickled or in a salad.

We had a good supply of mangoes lately and,  as the mantra on the islands go, “use what you have”. So we did last night for dessert.

White chocolate mousse with local mangoes and toasted pistachio nuts

I am a big fan of simple flavors, simple preparations and simple cooking techniques. I love the Northern California food philosophy (I did train there after all) of standing back as a chef, using good ingredients, and letting the food shine. Of course given that you have really good ingredients to begin with … another challenge on the island. But the mangoes were good yesterday and I have best quality white chocolate (Valrhona) and pistachio nuts in the kitchen.

For the dessert pictured above I diced some ripe mangoes and combined it with a little fresh mango puree and mango jam (made by a local lady, Betty Frederick, on the neighboring island of Bequia). This fresh mango compote was layered in a juice glass with white chocolate mousse and a “crumble” of homemade gingerbread cookies and toasted pistachio nuts.

Here’s the recipe for the white chocolate mousse. I learned this recipe from one of our guest chefs at Peter Island – Richard Farnabe. It is by far, the simplest recipe for white chocolate mousse, but the most delicious. And as simple goes, 4 ingredients are all it takes to make it. This is also my “go-to” recipe now for dark chocolate mousse – simply substituting dark chocolate for white in the recipe.

Easy White Chocolate Mousse

Yields 3-1/2 Cups

Ingredients:

6 ounces white chocolate, cut into small pieces, at room temperature

3 cups heavy cream, divided

3 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Procedure:

1. Heat 8 oz of cream until simmering. Pour hout cream over the white chocolate pieces in a bowl. Stir until smooth. Let the mixture sit for 20 minutes to cool to room temperature.

2. Combine 2 cups of the cream, 3 tablespoons powdered sugar and vanilla in a large, chilled mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer or standing mixer to whip the cream and sugar until stiff peaks form when the beater is stopped and lifted out.

3. Gently fold a third of the melted white chocolate mixture into the whipped cream. Add the second third; fold in, then add the remainder.

4. Scrape mixture into a piping bag and pipe into cups. Chill until ready to serve. Garnish with shaved white chocolate, whipped cream or fruit.