"Ode to Mango".....Mango Shrimp Salad with Quinoa, Avocado, Feta and Almonds

Ohhhh Mangos. So magical. So delicious. Nectar of the Gods...Biting into a perfectly ripe mango you question for a moment whether there is anything tastier in this world....
Funny story about mangos. When we go to the grocery store my husband and I each have to buy our own mangos. We are explicitly clear about who owns the mangos we put in our cart. If I place a mango into the grocery cart it by effect becomes my sole property - it is not a communal mango, no no. To violate this order by touching another's mango is pretty much on par with sacrelige in our household (A lesson I had to learn the hard way....)
That being said, today was one of those days I was lucky enough to have my own mango sitting in a bowl on our kitchen counter. For anyone who has ever seen the movie Sideways, a mango is like the pinot noir of the fruit world, in the sense that it is finicky. You can't eat it when it is too green, and yet wait a day too long to eat it and it will have peaked, its fruity goodness turned to overripe mushiness. 
My mango was fantastically, irreverently, perfectly ripe, which inspired me - instead of selfishly gobbling up its delectable contents and hiding the peels deep within the garbage -  to make my husband one of our favourite summer salads, a little number I like to call "Ode to Mango." 
This salad is delicious. I have made it twice for my husband, and both times he has complemented me on what a long way I have come (by this he means explicitly since that one time I made him Campbell Soup Mushroom Balls for dinner....). Both times he has eaten this salad he has complemented me and said, and I quote: "You are really starting to come into your own in the kitchen."
Now thats pretty high praise period, but its definetely high praise when you make your hungry husband only salad for dinner, one that contains quinoa at that - which he doesn't even like. So I would definetely urge you to try this one...It will definetely impress.

"Ode to Mango".....Mango Shrimp Salad with Quinoa, Avocado, Feta and Almonds

Salad:

1 perfectly, delectably ripe mango cubed
2 cups spinach
2 cups romaine
1 small avocado cubed
1 carrot grated
1/2 yellow pepper julienned
1/4 cucumber sliced
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 cup quinoa (cook according to instructions and cool).
3/4 cup roasted almonds (see recipe below)

1) Prep the above ingredients and assemble your salad (this salad is a little prep-heavy but its worth it I promise :)

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 TBSP honey
1 TBSP rice vinegar
1 tsp lemon zest
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp salt
A few shakes of hot sauce

2) Drizzle dressing over salad and don't skimp on it.

Shrimp:

200 g pre-cooked shrimp tail removed
1/4 cup barbeque sauce

3) Toss your pre-cooked shrimp in bbq sauce and heat them in a pan until warm (or if you are more ambitious fire up your bbq and give them a quick sear). Top your salad with the warm shrimp and serve.


Brown Sugar Roasted Almonds Recipe 

2 tsp egg white
1/2 tsp water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup brown sugar

1) Preheat oven to 275 degrees
2) Mix ingredients together and toss almonds with until coated
3) Line cookie sheet with parchment or aluminum foil and cook almonds 45 minutes.