I have this awesome cookbook I got when I was in San Antonio a few years ago (I think I may have actually purchased said cookbook at the Alamo), called Los Barrios Family Cookbook. In it is a lovely recipe for a fruit salad with chile powder. But it calls for cantaloupe (ew!) and about 80 million mangoes. And contrary the information provided on the box of mangoes I bought at Sam’s Club, mangoes are ridiculously difficult to cut.

Pineapples can also be a bit of a challenge, but I have a magical pineapple corer/slicer thingy that I forgot to take a photo of that helps. Although I accidentally put it in there crooked this time, so I ended up having to do most of it with my knife anyway (sorry I didn’t take a photo, I was covered in fruit juice).

So I have altered the recipe a bit, and I think it is still really good. It makes a ton, so you may want to save it for a day when you either have a lot of people coming over or you are having a major hankering for tropical fruit.

Feel free to add more mangoes (I usually just cut them until I get really sick of it and want to throw them at people, which happens somewhere after three mangoes) and some cantaloupe, if you’re into that sort of thing. And enjoy!

Fiesta fruit salad (adapted from Los Barrios Family Cookbook)
1 pineapple
3-4 mangoes
1/2 small watermelon
1 pint strawberries
Juice of 1-2 limes
Ground chile powder*

Core and cut the pineapple into small pieces, about 1-inch cubes. Peel and chop the mangos. Cut the flesh of the watermelon into cubes and remove black seeds. Hull and quarter the strawberries. Combine the fruit in a large bowl. Drizzle the lime juice over the top, sprinkle with a small amount of chile powder (about 1/2 teaspoon**), toss and sprinkle with more chile powder. Cover and refrigerate. Serve cold, with extra chile powder.

*The recipe actually says “pure ground chile powder for fruits and vegetables.” Apparently this is available at specialty stores and Latin groceries, but I have never been able to find it. I would recommend trying to find something that is just ground chiles (without added salt and cumin and other stuff), but if you can’t then regular chili powder is fine.

**I like to put a lot of chile powder on mine, but when I am serving it to numerous people I start off with just a bit. That way, people can add more if they want.