Mango Raspberry Bellini

I love Sunday mornings. No matter the season, this is the one morning of the week I can feel relaxed and enjoy a time that is usually rushed and busy the other six days in the week. Even if I’m going to church, I still have time to enjoy the entire newspaper, plus a magazine or two.

This is also the morning I enjoy special beverages. I’ll dress up the coffee with cinnamon, a special creamer, or chocolate for a mocha. Or I’ll make a drink, like this Mango Raspberry Bellini with a recipe given to me by the National Mango Board.

Tropical drinks are a reminder warmth is on the way. Since I’m allergic to pineapple, mango is my favorite island fruit. However, it took me a while to get the hang of cutting it! I remember my first time when I thought the pit would easily come out like a peach pit. Wrong! This pit does not come out, so you have to cut around it.

The National Mango Board has this terrific video to show you how to cut a mango.

The board also had a lot of mango recipes on their website, including this one. I like it’s minty, tropical taste. I also tested out non-alcoholic versions of the drink using club soda and ginger ale. They were tasty, too.

 

I’ve enjoyed this drink in one form or another every day since I first tried it. I keep thinking I’ll get tired of it, but so far that hasn’t happened. Guess I’ll have to buy more mangos!

Author: Linda Ditch

Mango Raspberry Bellini

Recipe courtesy of the National Mango Board

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 mint tea bag
• 1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, diced
• Raspberries
• 1 cup sparkling wine, or a different bubbly beverage (see note)

Instructions

1. First, make the mint simple syrup: combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Heat until the sugar melts. Remove from the heat, add the teabag, and steep for 5 minutes. Chill the syrup. (It can be stored in the refrigerator for one month.)
2. In a food processor, puree diced mango until smooth.
3. To assemble, place a few raspberries into a champagne flute or other glass. Add 2 tablespoons of the mint simple syrup, 2 tablespoons (or to taste) of the mango puree, and the sparkling wine (or ginger ale.) Stir to mix together.
4. Note: To make this drink kid-friendly (or for non-imbibing adults) skip the sparkling wine and use club soda instead. Another option is to skip the sparkling wine and the mint simple syrup and use ginger ale or lemon-lime soda instead.