Weekend Herb Blogging - one of the longest running food blog 'events' on the web. This week it is being hosted by Cinzia from Cindystar. Weekend Herb Blogging was created by Kalyn and is now organized by Haalo, WHB is now in its 4th successful year of showcasing every week delicious (and often unusal) foods prepared using herbs, fruits and vegetables by bloggers around the world.
On the weekend we decided to make some grilled fish tacos for dinner. There was a great recipe in last year's Food and Wine grilling issue . . . it was low-fat . . . apparently it was a match made in heaven. Then we got stuck with what to serve with the tacos! Most folks who have eaten out at Mexican restaurants can appreciate this dilemma - there isn't much low-fat about many Mexican dishes.
In the end we went with a jicama salad that I found on Simply Recipes, the amazing blog written by Elise Bauer. We have had great success with any of her recipes so we are confident that if she says something is good it will be!
Jicama is another of those vegetables that we had never tried until a few months ago. I have to say that shrinking our waistlines has had an incredible impact on our food explorations . . . at one time I was dreading it but now I have come to appreciate it to no end!
Jicama is a crispy, sweet, edible root that resembles a turnip in physical appearance, although the plants are not related. Jicama has been cultivated in South America for centuries, and the vegetable is quite popular in Mexican cuisine. Jicama has a unique flavor that lends itself well to salads, salsas, and vegetable platters. The roots can sometimes grow to be quite large, although when they exceed the size of two fists, they begin to convert the sugars that give jicama its sweet flavor into starches, making the root somewhat woody to the taste.
This salad had a delicious mix of flavours and textures. The sweetness of the orange mixed well with the subtle sweetness of the jicama. I enjoyed the simple lime dressing as well - without any oil at all! You have to love that!
Enjoy!
Jicama Salad
1 large jicama (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, then julienned or cubed (easiest to work with if you cut the jicama in half first)
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 green bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 a large cucumber, seeded, chopped
1 navel orange, peel cut away, sliced crosswise, then each round quartered
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup lime juice
Pinch of cayenne
Pinch of paprika
SaltOptional
1/2 avocado chopped
2 Tbsp olive oilMethod
1Toss together the jicama, bell peppers, red onion, cucumber, orange, and cilantro in a large serving bowl. Pour lime juice over all. Sprinkle with a pinch of cayenne and paprika. Season generously with salt.
2 Let sit a half an hour before serving.
Serves 4.
Call it a heekamah and start experimenting because this root vegetable is tasty both raw and cooked.
The jicama is shaped like a big turnip, with thin, light-brown skin and off-white, slightly translucent flesh. Its texture is like that of an apple or water chestnut – moist, crunchy and light. It has a slight sweetness and nuttiness that work well with spicy food. No wonder Latin-American cooks love it.
Treat jicama as a vegetable. Chop, slice or dice it for use in salads or crudité platters, or add it to stews, soups or stir-fries. It doesn't discolour and will stay crisp if you don't cook it too long.
The jicama's official name is Pachyrhizus erosus. It's also known as the Mexican turnip, yam bean or ahipa.
Store yours in a cool, dry place or in the vegetable crisper of the fridge. Cover cut pieces with plastic wrap.
That looks great!
Posted by: Amy | May 20, 2009 at 03:53 PM
It sure is Amy. It makes a lot though. Believe it or not but we're still eating it! It keeps well. *smile*
Posted by: Jerry | May 24, 2009 at 08:02 AM
Thanks for your recipe, never heard about jicama before and I learned something new!
Posted by: cinzia | May 25, 2009 at 03:38 AM