Mango

Mangoes take the place of tomatoes, so you don't have to wait until summer to enjoy this much-loved Italian salad.

Basil, cilantro, and red bell pepper bring a savory element to this fruit salad. This is a great dessert, but would be equally good for breakfast or brunch.

Surf-and-turf like you've never had before—whole fried trout topped with crisp pieces of sweet and spicy pork. For a traditional Thai dinner, serve the mains and sides family-style with a large bowl of steamed jasmine rice.

This gorgeously scented, lush dessert radiates the tropics: As the guanabana—otherwise known as soursop—sherbet melts on the tongue, it releases notes of exotic fruits and flowers that are beautifully complemented by the other fresh fruits served with it.

Mango, kiwi, and pineapple are enhanced with a little lime syrup for a tangy, and not incidentally yellow and green, fruit salad.

This version of the famous jerk method from Boston Bay in Jamaica is a classic example of why spice pastes work so well in grilling: They're easier to make and impart flavors more directly than a liquid marinade. Sweet-and-sour chutney and an incendiary but hyper-flavorful Scotch bonnet pepper sauce complement the chicken. You probably won't use all the sauce, but extra keeps, covered and refrigerated, indefinitely. Important note: This dish is EXTREMELY SPICY. While adored by spicy-food lovers for their distinctive flavor, the Scotch bonnet peppers that feature prominently here are some of the hottest chiles you can find. If you prefer a lower heat level, you can dial it down a bit by removing the seeds (which contain much of the heat) from the Scotch bonnets or substituting another type of fresh red or green chile that packs less of a punch.

A chilled soup with a taste of the tropics; start making it one day ahead.

Caribbean ingredients make these beautiful little tarts something special.

Here's a very simple salad that's loaded with Southeast Asian flavor.

Mangoes are used two ways in this Indian dish — grilled with the chicken and tossed into rice.

The light and clean Asian combination of shrimp and mango is treated to a touch of heat from a bit of fresh chile.

In this simple recipe, salty, smoked ham is paired with sweet mango and onion. The fruit and vegetables are cooked alongside the ham in the covered roasting pan, leaving them meltingly tender. To ensure even cooking, leave the ham out at room temperature for an hour before baking.

This dessert needs some last-minute assembly, so appoint a helper or line up the components to make it all go smoothly.

Guava and sautéed mango add subtle sweetness to this elegant dish. What to drink: A crisp, dry white wine with tropical fruit notes, like Pinot Gris.