I use OXO’s Good Grips Hand-Held Mandoline Slicer, which costs under $15. It has three settings, so you can choose 1/4-inch, 1/8-inch and 1/16-inch thicknesses; plus, it has a safety lock when it’s not in use. This slicer is small and easily fits into a drawer. I can effortlessly work through a sweet potato in under 2 minutes; a radish, in a few seconds.
Knowing a proper technique can also make all the difference. Something that can step up your game in the kitchen is knowing how to cut up a mango, a fruit that’s too delicious to ignore at the grocery store. You just have to know what to do to work around the big flat seed in the center. So here’s how to cut up a mango: Place the fruit on a cutting board. Cut about ¼-inch off the center, which is the widest part of the fruit. At this point you’ve sliced off what is known as a “cheek.” Turn the mango around and slice away the other cheek. Score each of these cheeks, making parallel slices. Be sure not to cut all the way through the skin. If you want cubes, also make slices running the other way. Now, use a spoon — for this I use another handy tool, a serrated grapefruit spoon — to remove the flesh from the skin. For the remainder of the mango attached to the seed, slice away the remaining sides from the seed, cut away the skin, then dice.
It’s also good to know how to slice or dice an avocado: First cut the fruit in half. The pit will be attached to one of the halves. stick the knife in the pit to pop it out. Then score the avocado as you would a mango. Use a spoon to scoop out the slices or cubes.
For the following recipe, I used my mandoline slicer to make 1/8-inch slices of sweet potatoes. While they were baking in the oven, I sliced the radishes, cut up the mango and avocado, and prepared the other ingredients. Easy peasy.
LOADED SWEET POTATO NACHOS
2 sweet potatoes, thinly sliced
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
1 mango, peeled and diced
3 radishes, sliced
1 avocado, diced
1 Serrano pepper, thinly sliced
1 small lime, sliced into wedges
¼ cup adobo sauce from canned chipotles in adobo sauce
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Toss the sweet potatoes with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Spread in a thin layer on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Top with the cheese bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the sweet potatoes are golden brown.
Remove the baking sheet form the oven, and top the sweet potatoes with the black beans, mango, radishes, avocado and Serrano pepper. Add a squeeze of lime, drizzle with the adobo sauce and sprinkle with a few pinches of salt. Serve straight from the pan with extra lime slices on the side.
Our assessment: Thin slices of sweet potato turn out to be a great substitute for higher calorie tortilla chips. This dish is colorful, and offers a range of textures and flavors. If you like foods hot and spicy, follow the recipe as is. If you want to dial back the heat, omit the Serrano peppers, and if you want it even milder, substitute salsa for the adobo sauce.
From the book: "The Love & Lemons Cookbook: An Apple-to-Zucchini Celebration of Impromptu Cooking" by Jeanine Donofrio and photographs by Jack Mathews; 296 pages, $35. Published by Avery, 2016.
What you get: This cookbook is organized by vegetable and fruit, and the photos of the dishes are works of art. This book would be a great gift for Mother's Day, which is May 8.
In her own words: "We started the "Love & Lemons" blog as a place to share not only my recipes but the ideas of local seasonal cooking." — Jeanine Donofrio
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