Chocolate dipped mango with pistachios, recipe

Don’t skip out on the Halloween sweets. Julia Platt Leonard has a decadent dried fruit recipe sure to satisfy your cravings

Save the sweets for the trick-or-treaters and delight in your own homemade Hallow’s Eve treats

When I was a kid back in the states, Halloween was like a military operation. Everyone knew the few people who handed out full-size candy bars (score!), who gave apples (boo!) and the old lady who’d root around in her purse until she found some manky mint covered in lint (creepy!).

We’d spread out like a swat team, determined to fill our pillow cases with sugary loot before we were forced to go home.

The first year I moved to London I stood ready at the door with a basket of candy in one hand, ghostly music playing in the background, and a trickle of blood (red lipstick) running down my face. But no one came. I ended up eating mini candy bars and wondering why.

But that was almost 20 years ago and now Halloween is an institution here. Around 5pm, the first trick or treaters descend on our doorstep, sending the dogs into a frenzy that doesn’t cease until several hours later when the candy is gone and the kids are back home. I imagine them spreading their haul on the floor or kitchen table and beginning high level trading negotiations with siblings or friends, just like I did when I was their age.

Sadly, my trick or treating days are over. But I bet I’m not the only adult who’d like to dress up in costume, harass innocent neighbours with taunts of “trick or treat” and stuff a pillowcase to bursting with tooth-rotting candy. Instead, I’ll stock up on sweets for the kids and make something for myself to enjoy after the last goblins have gone, thrilled that I didn’t give them a piece of fruit or mint.

Chocolate dipped mango with pistachios

Dried fruit, some nuts and oh yes, a bit of dark chocolate. Surely this recipe sits comfortably in the “good for you” camp? I’ve used slices of dried mango (in the Halloween theme) but any dried fruit would do nicely.

Makes 14 pieces

14 slices of dried mango, about 120g in total
50g dark chocolate
30g pistachios

Snap the chocolate into pieces and place in a heat proof bowl. Place over a pan of just simmering water. Make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl and that the bowl fits snugly so steam doesn’t escape and touch the chocolate. For a small amount like this, I find it’s easier to put the chocolate in a ramekin and melt it in the microwave. Start with 50 seconds, give it a stir then repeat with shorter blasts of about 15 seconds each until the chocolate is melted.

Meanwhile, finely chop the pistachios either in the small bowl of a food processor or by hand. Place the nuts into a shallow bowl. Dip the bottom third of a slice of mango into the chocolate so it coats both sides. Then cover with chopped nuts. Place on a wire baking rack and allow to harden. Store in a plastic container.