If someone asks me how I define summer, I would say stone fruits. Peaches, plums, cherries, nectarines.… I have loved them all since I remember. But mangoes or mango cobbler? Not really, except for those I’ve had on my trips to Brazil.
While living in New York and even in Florida, past experience has taught me to stay away from them. They always seemed too dry, even bitter at times and way too fibrous. Last year some of my lucky friends with mango trees in their backyards started sharing their bountiful harvest with me. “I have too many. I don’t know what to do with them. They keep falling. Enjoy them while they last,” they would say.
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I will never forget my first bite of a local tree-ripe mango…it was a burst of juicy sweet nectar, pure deliciousness, soft silky texture melting in my mouth. After that, I would ask my mango owners friends for any extra mangoes they didn’t want. Those were so fresh and full of flavor that I didn’t want to mix them up with anything else. Salsa? Nuh. Soup? Nope. Smoothies? Maybe. Devour them as they made it home? Definitely yes, mess included.
However, this summer, for some unknown reason, I’ve been craving pies, tarts, clafoutis and cobblers. So I called a friend of mine who runs a farm co-op and asked her to save me the best of this mango season. And I made this mango cobbler.
