Crispy, refreshing jicama salad with julienned jicama, bell pepper, red onion, cucumber, orange and lime juice. Perfect accompaniment to Mexican dishes.
Do you know Jicama?
Resembling a heavily overgrown radish, this tuber is the root of a grapevine native to Mexico and Central America.
I first saw jicama (pronounced HICK-ah-mah) years ago in cafeteria salad bars, and on its own (as they usually serve it in these places) jicama can be a little boring.
However, with some spice and lime juice, it comes alive and is wonderfully refreshing, especially paired with tacos and refried beans.
Jicama salads are usually made with slightly thicker jicama in julienne than I’ve shown here. Cut them this small (result of the mandolin) and the jicama chunks will bend a bit and the salad will resemble a coleslaw rather than chunky jicama chunks.
The good news is that the lettuce is cut in a way that makes it easier to eat. Julienne or dice the jicama into whatever pieces you like best.
Jicama Salad
If you’re serving jicama salad as an accompaniment to a spicy Mexican dish like enchiladas or tostadas, there’s no need to add olive oil or avocados. The main dish contains enough fat to balance the acidity in the salad. In fact, one benefit of the salad is that it does just that and balances these types of dishes.
However, if you’re serving the salad on its own, you might want to add a little olive oil or some chopped avocado to the salad so it’s balanced in and of itself.
Tip: It’s easiest to cut julienne or diced jicama if you cut them in half first.
ingredients
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1 big jicama (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, then julienned or diced
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1/2 Red pepperfinely diced
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1/2 yellow peppersfinely diced
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1/2 green paprikafinely diced
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1/2 Cup chopped Red onion
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1/2 big cucumbercored, chopped
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1 navel orange, peeled, sliced crosswise, then quartered each round
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1/2 Cup chopped fresh coriander
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1/3 Cup lime juice
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prize cayenne
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prize paprika
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Salt
Optional
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1/2 Avocado, chopped
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2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
method
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In a large serving bowl, combine jicama, bell pepper, red onion, cucumber, orange and cilantro.
Pour lime juice over everything. Sprinkle with a pinch of cayenne pepper and paprika. Season generously with salt.
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Leave to rest for half an hour before serving.
Links:
Tangerine Jicama Salad by Nicole from Pinch My Salt
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 330 | calories |
| 1g | Fat |
| 81g | carbohydrates |
| 7g | protein |
