I have seen this vegetable (actually it is a root/tuber) in the farmers market with n other varieties of yams and had been thinking of buying.  I first got introduced to this at the Whole Foods Market lunch buffet.  They always make a salad out of this which is so delicious.  Finally I decided to buy this and make a salad out of it based on the taste I had at Whole Foods Market.  Since I could not identify each and every element of the ingredients, I modified it with my own mix of fruits and vegetables and salad dressing.  I really loved the texture and taste of this yam and planning to make more recipes which I will definitely post here.

Jicama has a nice crunchy sweet texture which is similar to the Asian pears.  Jicama is a yam bean (Don’t ask me why they make it such bean and yam) native to Mexico.  You can read more about here. Hope you will enjoy this recipe as well.

This salad is so easy and worth making.  You can mix and match with different ingredients.  One example is I was thinking of using fresh pineapple instead of orange but unfortunately didn’t have it.  So let’s get to business.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups baby spinach
• Quarter of a Jicama (4 oz)
• 1 orange (I used navel orange)
• 1 ripe avocado

For the salad dressing:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Champaign vinegar
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• Salt to taste

Method:

• With a sharp knife peel orange and cut the bitter pith from the orange. Cut in between the membranes to release the segments.  Just take one or 2 segments to make one tablespoon of juice.  Cut the rest of each segment into half diagonally and set aside
• In a small bowl whisk together the orange juice, olive oil, Champaign vinegar, crushed pepper and salt and set aside for about 10 minutes
• Meanwhile wash and drain spinach and dry thoroughly
• Peel Jicama and cut them into thick strips – about less than ¼ inch thickness and about 1 ½ to 2 inches long.
• Half the avocado and remove the seed. Scoop out the flesh carefully and cut them into thin slices
• To serve divide spinach into 2 bowls and arrange them in the bottom of each bowl. Now add orange segments, Jicama slices, and avocado over the spinach bed.
• Sprinkle salad dressing over the salad and serve immediately
• Serves 2