World
Helen Goh’s recipe for pineapple and mango paletas | The sweet spot
- They reminded me of the iced treats of my Malaysian childhood: fruit-driven, brightly coloured and made less to indulge than to relieve the heat.
- What struck me most was the flavour logic shared by both countries, where sweetness is often enlivened with salt, chilli, tamarind or citrus, each sharpening the fruit in its own way and making it seem brighter, cooler and somehow more vivid.
- Paletas are rarely perfectly smooth; little pieces of fruit suspended in the ice give them texture and interest.
These bright, sharp Mexican iced treats are the perfect summer cooler – with a spiky kick The first time I encountered paletas in Mexico, they felt strangely familiar. They reminded me of the iced treats of my Malaysian childhood: fruit-driven, brightly coloured and made less to indulge than to relieve the heat. What struck me most was the flavour logic shared by both countries, where sweetness is often enlivened with salt, chilli, tamarind or citrus, each sharpening the fruit in its own way and making it seem brighter, cooler and somehow more vivid.
Paletas are rarely perfectly smooth; little pieces of fruit suspended in the ice give them texture and interest. These two paletas take different paths from the same base: pineapple – sharp, clean and bright with lime and ginger – and mango – sweeter, rounder and more indulgent, which I’ve spiked with chilli, lime and salt.
Platts/. Food and prop styling: Lucy Turnbull. View image in fullscreen Helen Goh's pineapple and mango paletas.
Paleta moulds are easy to find online and in many kitchenware shops, but if you don’t have them, small paper cups and wooden sticks work perfectly well, too. Prep 10 min Cook 15 min, plus cooling Freeze 6 hr+ Makes 10-12 For the pineapple, lime and ginger paletas 600g fresh pineapple flesh, cut into chunks, plus 70g finely diced into 5-7mm pieces 1 quantity base syrup (see above) 1 tbsp lime juice 20g fresh ginger, finely grated Pinch of fine sea salt For the mango and Tajín paletas 500g ripe mango flesh, cut into chunks, plus 70g finely diced into 5–7mm pieces 1 quantity base syrup (see above) 1½ tbsp lime juice Small pinch of fine sea salt Tajín or other chilli-lime seasoning, to serve To make the base syrup, place the sugar and 70ml water into a small saucepan on a medium heat and stir until dissolved.
Remove from the heat and cool completely. For the pineapple paletas, blend the pineapple chunks with the cooled syrup, lime juice, ginger and salt until very smooth.
Source: Guardian Food