Mango Lime Parfait

A soft, cool and smooth dessert. For a strong citrus flavor, add one whole peeled lemon or lime to the blender, along with the lemon or lime juice called for in the recipe. This will result in a tart citrus-y dessert, much like lemon or lime pie. Before adding the dates, taste the mango mixture, you may not want to add too many if the mangoes are already sweet.

Almond maple crust mixture (set aside in a bowl)
4 cups coarsely chopped mango (about 5 mangoes)
1 cup lime juice (or lemon juice)
1 teaspoon of lime (or lemon) zest
4-8 dates, pitted and chopped

In a blender, place mango pieces and blend until smooth. Add lime juice, zest and dates and process until smooth. Be patient. Mango is a very fibrous fruit and you want to achieve smooth, pudding-like results.

In a parfait or wine glass, layer the crust mixture and the mango lime mixture. Start with some crust mixture in the bottom of the glass, then mango mixture, a bit of crust mixture and so on, ending with crust mixture on top. Yield: 4 glasses of parfait.

Variation: substitute papaya or persimmon

Variation: Add another layer, made up of thinly sliced Kiwi fruit or strawberries.

- by Nomi Shannon, The Raw Gourmet

Mango-Lime Parfait