Jerk Jackfruit Salad and Mango Salsa — a plant-based Other recipe by BOSH!

Jerk Jackfruit Salad and Mango Salsa

This one is a proper showstopper and we genuinely make it on repeat during summer. The jerk-spiced jackfruit comes out of the oven sticky and smoky, and when you pile it onto a salad with that fresh mango salsa, it's just incredible. You get heat, sweetness, crunch and freshness all in one bowl. It's the kind of thing you'd order at a Caribbean street food stall and then spend the whole walk home thinking about. Make it this weekend, we promise you won't regret it.

Cook: 35 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Preheat oven to 200°C
  • Large baking tray
  • 2x mixing bowls
  • 2x forks

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 5 tsp jerk spice rub
  • 3 tbsp BBQ sauce
  • 1 tbsp Encona hot sauce
  • iceberg lettuce
  • 1 mango
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 cucumber
  • 10g coriander
  • 4 spring onions
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 lime
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 2 x 250g bag(s) of microwavable brown basmati rice
  • 2 x 400g can(s) of jackfruit

Method

1

First, prepare the jackfruit

  • Open, drain, rinse and pat dry the jackfruit
  • Put the olive oil and spice rub in a mixing bowl and stir to combine
  • Loosely pull the jackfruit pieces apart with two forks so the fibres of the fruit separate
  • Put the jackfruit in the mixing bowl and stir to combine and coat
  • Spread the jackfruit out on the baking sheet, put the sheets in the oven and roast for 30 minutes
  • Take the tray out of the oven, carefully mix the BBQ and hot sauces into the roast jackfruit pieces (you can do this on the tray with a wooden spoon), put the tray back in the oven and roast for a further 5 minutes
2

While the jackfruit is roasting, prepare the mango salsa salad

  • Halve, trim, core and shred the lettuce
  • Peel and dice the mango
  • Trim and halve the cucumber lengthways. Scoop out the watery seeds and dice the cucumber
  • Trim, halve, core and cut the pepper into 1cm chunk
  • Pick the coriander leaves and roughly chop
  • Halve the avocado, take out the stone, remove the skin and slice the avocado
  • Trim and finely slice the spring onion
  • Cut the lime in half
  • Put all the salsa ingredients in a mixing bowl, add some salt and pepper and toss to combine
3

Almost time to serve

  • Cook the rice as instructed on the packet and transfer to 4 bowls
  • Spoon the jackfruit over the rice
  • Sprinkle over the mango salsa and serve

Tips & Variations

  • Dry it out properly: The drier the jackfruit before it hits the spice rub, the better the roast. Pat it down well with kitchen paper and don't rush this step, it makes a real difference to the final texture.
  • Make the salsa your own: We love adding a finely chopped red chilli to the mango salsa for an extra kick. Henry always squeezes in a bit more lime than the recipe calls for too, and honestly it's the right call.
  • Batch the jackfruit: The jerk jackfruit keeps really well in the fridge for a couple of days, so it's worth roasting a double batch. Chuck it into wraps, tacos or grain bowls and you've basically got lunch sorted for the week.

Why This Works

The trick is really taking your time with the jackfruit before it goes in the oven. Pulling those fibres apart properly means the spice rub gets into every bit of it, and you end up with this amazing texture that's almost meaty and totally satisfying. The mango salsa isn't just a garnish either, it does real work cutting through all that jerk heat with sweetness and acidity.