help me replace my mango salsa...

We serve a popular lightly blackened and grilled tilapia with a fresh mango salsa. The salsa is made with red onion, jalapeno, red bell pepper, a bit of lime and lemon juices...and of course, diced fresh mango. It's been very well received however, we're in a small downstate community with shall we say limited "exotic" fresh produce. To date my options for mango has been buying a case from a distributor with little to no control of their quality, praying to find a couple usable ones at a local market, or finding some that are acceptable at a SAMS in a neighboring community.

While it is a popular dish, I'm exploring changing up the salsa for something still mildly sweet to play on the blackening spices, but with a more readily available fruit perhaps. My other possible option is using frozen mango, but that really goes against what we try to do here.

Suggestions?

Have you tried the frozen mango? I have not but if the flavors are right and the texture is close I'm not sure you are going to find a better alternative (in the middle of nowhere)
Unless you are going to go full on "seasonal & local" (short for if you don't grow mangos, don't serve them) you might not have another choice? I actually don't have a problem with slightly underripe mangos in my mango salsa because I don't really like sweet stuff with my fish.

You might want to consider pineapple.

Perhaps peach in the summer.

I'd say peach too.

I'd say tomato, its a fruit. I agree with the above poster, i don't like sweet fruit on my fish either, I always scrape it off, or ask for it to be on the side.

I agree that peach would probably be an acceptable substitute. The problem is that peaches are not in season right now while mangoes are. So, I suspect you'll still have the same problem obtaining good quality produce. It seems to me that pineapple would radically change the flavor profile of your salsa. Perhaps you can get a hold of some papaya and bump up the flavor with additional citrus.

i find Dole frozen IQF mangos to be of consistent quality. of course, fresh is always better, but i'd recommend trying them. i believe they are sold as 2-5lb. bags in a box. you'd need to dice them, as they're large chunks. nothing tastes like mango salsa, except mango salsa.

Thanks all..we'll be picking up a sample of the diced frozen from Dole's and see how they play out.

What about a tomato chutney?

Salsa versions I would consider:

Spring:
Mango
Papaya
strawberry

Summer:
mango
peach
Nectarine
Watermelon rind

Fall:
Peach
Nectarine
Pear
Roasted Pumpkin
Apple (I much prefer pear. Apple seems like a copout, and they brown quickly.)

Winter:
Pear
Apple (I much prefer pear. Apple seems like a copout, and they brown quickly.)
Cucumber (pear/cuke combo salsa is very refreshing in the dead of winter)
Roasted Pumpkin (If I do this this year, I'll try it with some cuke for crunch, or maybe some pear, or both, and call it
"Grilled Harvest <fishname>")
Roasted vegetable (zucchini, onion, red pepper - whatever looks good, and makes sense)


As an aside, though I understand small town palates all too intimately:
De-seeded and deveined fresh jalapeno would be my choice over green bells 8 days a week. Red bells are also a great option for color along with the crunch contrast as well with a little more subtle of a bell flavor than the green guys.

Pineapple's been mentioned by a few. I love pineapple. I like it far more plain, than as an add in. Just me. Also, a fine dice on pineapple is a pain in the ass. They can get stringy if your knife skillz aren't great, and mine definitely aren't great.

seebee wrote: Also, a fine dice on pineapple is a pain in the ass. They can get stringy if your knife skillz aren't great, and mine definitely aren't great.

I don't think this is about your skills but about your knife--if this is happening, it almost certainly means your knife isn't sharp.