THE mango has come a long way in recent years. Until relatively recently they were seen simply as an exotic delicacy to be sampled on trips to the East, now however they sit comfortably as a staple of smoothies, yoghurts and ice creams the world over.

While regular mangoes are readily available at almost any grocers or supermarket all year round, the particularly delicious honey mangoes from Pakistan can only be bought in June and July.

They’re soft, sweet and well worth finding. We go to Mattas on Bold Street for ours. If you can’t get hold of any honey mangoes, regular ones will work just as well in these recipes.

Soups are generally off the menu at this time of year, but this Spicy Mango Soup can be served hot or cold making it great as a starter to any meal.

To serve four, you’ll need 2 tbsp olive oil, a knob of butter, two small finely chopped onions, two chopped cloves of garlic, 1 small chilli – chopped and de-seeded, a small piece of fresh ginger – grated, a sprig of fresh rosemary, two chopped mangoes, 1.4litres vegetable stock, 1 tin (400g) coconut milk.

In a heavy-based saucepan, heat the oil and butter before adding the chopped onions. Cook on a medium heat for about 15-20 minutes until soft and translucent. Next, add the garlic, chilli, ginger and rosemary and leave to infuse for a few minutes before adding the mangoes.

Cook until everything is soft, then add the vegetable stock and simmer for another 15-20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the coconut milk. Blend the soup to a puree – you can push it through a sieve if need be – season, and serve. If you want to make this dish extra special, try adding a few cooked and peeled king prawns before serving.

A pestle and mortar can be very useful for this next recipe, a Quick Thai Style Mango Salad. If you don’t have one you’ll have to improvise for now, but we seriously recommend investing in one soon. We use ours all the time, they’re brilliant!

To make the salad, take 1tbsp soft dark brown sugar, one clove of garlic, 2 tbsp fish sauce, the juice of two limes, 2 mangoes – thinly sliced, 4 thinly sliced spring onions, a handful of fresh mint and coriander leaves.

Place the sugar and garlic in the pestle and mortar and pound to a paste. Add the fish sauce and the lime juice and stir to combine. Transfer everything into a mixing bowl before adding the thinly sliced mangoes, spring onions, mint and coriander. Mix together gently. Serve with some grilled or barbecued fish like red snapper for the ultimate taste of South East Asian beach life.

These Mango Tarts are delicious served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a big dollop of creme fraiche.

To make four, take one large sheet of ready-made puff pastry, a little melted butter, 2-3 thinly sliced mangoes, 40g Demerara sugar, 20g castor sugar, 3tsp finely grated lemon rind.

Cut out four 11cm squares from the puff pastry sheet and lay them on a baking tray covered with grease proof paper. Make a shallow incision about 1cm in along all sides of the pastry squares, being careful not to cut all the way through, to make a border. Prick the inside squares with a fork and brush the pastry all over with the melted butter.

Arrange the sliced mangoes across the centre of tarts ensuring they don’t cross the borders. In a mixing bowl, combine the sugars and the lemon rind before scattering the mix evenly over the mangoes. Bake the tarts in a pre-heated oven at 180°C/gas mark 4 for 20 minutes until golden and glazed.

* Sheila Benson and Sean Millar are at The Side Door, 29a Hope Street, Liverpool. Tel: 0151 707 7888.