I cannot believe I had never tried this vegetable before I came to the USA, and I must say I have tried quite a variety of exotic fruits and vegetables in my time. I know the local folks out here must know this amazing vegetable. Yes, I am talking about the fresh, juicy root vegetable, jicama.

I have been seeing jicama around for a while now, on restaurant menus and at dinner parties. At first, I honestly did not care for it, perhaps because it was a little dry or the way it was prepared.

Now though, I have a whole new opinion of this lovely vegetable. It’s my go-to vegetable at the moment, especially with summer imminently here. As I am British, it was definitely something new to add to my repertoire, and to inform my peeps overseas about.

Let me share a little history of jicama with you.

It is grown in South and Central America and used in all sorts of flavorful dishes. Its scientific classification is Pachyrhizus erosus (does anyone know how to pronounce this?). It is commonly known as jicama (JI-ca-ma), or a Mexican yam, Mexican potato, Mexican water chestnut, and Mexican turnip. This vast array of names tells you exactly how versatile this vegetable actually is. I love it!

This crisp, white-fleshed, edible tuber of a climbing plant within the pea family has been cultivated since pre-Columbian times (around the 17th century) and used especially in Mexican cooking. It is a delicious, sweet-tasting, nutty root, which adds a cool crunch to salads and side dishes, or it can be cooked similar to a sweet potato, but don’t forget…the skin is non-edible.

It can be eaten raw or cooked. I personally love it in salads as it creates and lifts any type of salad from boring and flat into a new dimension. The fresh and light vegetable has a crunchy texture that I just adore. It leaves me feeling full and satiated, yet is low in calories and sodium and high in fiber. There is hardly any fat content, which supports heart health.

I make it in multiple ways – hot and cold, as a snack and as a main course. I julienne it, shred it, thick slice and bake it, or dehydrate as thinly sliced jicama chips which go great with salsa and other dips.

Originally in England, I would normally eat roasted lamb chops with a mint sauce and mashed potatoes, the good old-fashioned British way. However, this simple recipe I am sharing with you was something I came up with while making grilled Tandoori lamb chops for a friend of mine. I wanted to have something fresh and light that would complement the lamb, and that’s when I thought, Aha!!! Ginger, jicama and red cabbage salad. (If you want the recipe for the Tandoori lamb chops, please visit my website.)

Ginger, Red Cabbage & Jicama Salad (Serves 4-8)

Combine jicama with healthy ingredients for a nutritious and
healing meal.

1 Jicama

1 Small red cabbage, or ½ a medium size

¼ cup Sunflower seeds

3-5 Pitted dates finely chopped

Instructions

Medium julienne or medium grate the jicama and red cabbage and put to the side. You will add the sunflower seeds and dates atop the salad before it is served.

Dressing

Avocado oil

Juice of fresh ginger

Fresh lemon juice

Ground cumin

Honey

Pink Himalayan salt to taste

Ground black pepper to taste

A couple of sprigs of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

Mix and whisk all ingredients together. You can store in the fridge for up to a week in a handy salad dressing bottle.

When you are ready to eat, you can mix the salad dressing together with the salad. I actually like it more when it is marinated. I make a couple of days’ worth to have as I need when life gets really busy.

The best way to juice ginger is to grate it or put it in a coffee mill machine, crush it, put it into cheesecloth and then squeeze out the liquid. You do not have to discard the ginger fiber as you can use in another dish; there will still be a lot of flavor.

If you do not have cheesecloth, you can use a sieve or a durable paper towel.

Enjoy!

Chef Dipika, holistic health and lifestyle coach, holds monthly Healthy Eating & Exotic Food Cooking Classes. For more information, visit www.dipikapatel.life or contact her at [email protected].