Warm weather food.

This fresh, zesty Asian salad makes an incredible hot weather meal. I first tasted a similar dish, made with ripe mangoes and grilled chicken, at a dinner party five years back, and while I've tried to recreate it a couple of times with varying degrees of success, it was only last month that I conjured up a mindblowingly fresh and appetising version.

I served it as a prelude to an awesome Moroccan roast chicken (more about that another time), but it was so good on its own I almost wish that was all I'd prepared. Almost.

I knew immediately what I wanted for lunch when I saw green mangoes for sale earlier. I chose chicken for my protein this time around, but shrimp really is the best. Or have it with chicken and shrimp, or neither! That's how versatile and forgiving this salad is.

Here's what I roughly used - a lot of it depends on the sweetness of your ripe mango and the tartness of the green, so adjust the ratio of lime juice to sugar accordingly.

Leigh's make it up as you go Thai mango salad
Serves 4

2 + 5 tbsp fish sauce
1 + 1 tbsp sugar (or equivalent in gula melaka syrup)12 prawns, shelled and deveined (or use 1 chicken breast, sliced)
juice of 1 large lime (not the tiny ones you have with belachan and hokkien noodles)
zest of 1/4 large lime
1 red chilli, sliced
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 sweet, ripe mango, cut into cubes
1 green mango, skinned and sliced into thin strips
handful of fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
generous handful of roasted cashew nuts

1. Combine 2 tbsp fish sauce and 1 tbsp sugar. Add prawns, toss well to coat, then cover with cling film and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hr.
2. In a bowl, combine lime juice and zest, remaining fish sauce and sugar, and the sliced chilli. Stir well and then taste and adjust the seasoning. Set aside until needed.
3. Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Add the prawns, in batches if necessary, and cook until pink and cooked through. Alternatively, cook the prawns on an oiled electric grill.
4. Tip ripe and green mango onto a serving plate. Throw in the cooked prawns and mint, and drizzle over the dressing. Toss well to combine.
5. Top with the roasted cashew nuts and tuck in!