Easy as ABC Monday: J is for Jícama
The jícama (pronounced hee-ka-ma) is a South American vegetable, also called the Mexican potato. It’s not pretty, but the taste is surprisingly sweet. It’s similar in texture to a water chestnut, but sliced raw it tastes kind of like an apple or pear. You can do a lot with a jícama, but they’re best served raw with dip or in salads. Since it hails from Latin America it pairs well with other staples from the region, like black beans and corn. Sliced raw, it’s great for scooping guacamole.
Or you can use jícama in a dip and serve it with crudités. Here’s quick recipe for jícama salsa. Serve it with jícama slices, other sliced veggies and veggie batons, and tortilla chips. You can use a less intense pepper if your kids don’t like things too spicy, or use the spicy pepper but remove the seeds to lower the hot-factor.
1/2 small pineapple
a 1/2-pound piece jícama
3 ounces dried apricots (about 1/3 cup)
1 small red onion
1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro sprigs
1/2 fresh habanero or Scotch bonnet chile
Peel pineapple and cut enough into 1/4-inch dice to measure 1 3/4 cups. (You can use canned pineapple, just make certain to drain it or your salsa will be very soggy.) Peel jícama and cut into 1/4-inch dice. Coarsely chop apricots and chop enough onion to measure 3/4 cup. Finely chop cilantro and, wearing rubber gloves, finely chop chile with seeds. In a bowl toss together all ingredients and season with salt. Salsa may be made 6 hours ahead and chilled, covered.
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