Recipe: Asian Jicama-Mango Salad

Jicama (pronounced like you're mid-hiccup when you call for your ma, "hick-ah-ma") is an often overlooked vegetable (well, actually a tuber similar to a potato) that deserves your attention. It's known as a Mexican Yam or Turnip and is a refreshing raw, slightly starchy treat with subtle flavors like green beans or peas and apples. Don't worry, it tastes nothing like a raw potato/yam or turnip.

Since it's refreshing and subtle, it pairs well with bolder flavors. Enter: Habanero. I have a love-hate relationship with this chili. I love its fruity, almost sweet heat. I don't like its intense heat. It can be up to 100x as hot as Tabasco sauce! You can avoid the heat by avoiding the capsaicin which is concentrated in the seeds and the pith where the seeds are attached.

Habaneros and jicama are from Mexico, so you can imagine all the Mexican flavor combos you could add. I was feeling adventurous though, so I went with some Asian flavors of ginger and sesame oil for my salad.

Asian Jicama-Mango Salad

1 large jicama
1 mango
1 bell pepper (color is your choice, mine was red)
1/4 c cilantro
7-8 radishes
handful of chives (or green onions)

Sauce:
1 T sesame oil
2 T lime juice
1 T brown rice vinegar
2 diced itsy-bitsy habaneros
1 T grated ginger
1 T bee-free honee (or a sweetener of your choice)

Dice the veggies small (see photo) and place in a bowl. Mix the sauce ingredients in a glass measuring cup (if you're worried about the heat, try 1/2 a habanero and up it until you're comfortable.) Blend the sauce well and add to veggie bowl and toss well. Serve cold or room temperature.

Don't forget one of the best parts...eating the mango you didn't cut off the seed...mmm...mango!!