Festive Jicama Salad for the Holidays

This is a great salad for your holiday table – as healthy and easy as it is beautiful and delicious!  The recipe was adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, “The Well-Filled Tortilla.”  Don’t obsess about the pomegranate; I include instructions on how to extract the seeds without making a huge mess.  If there is no pomegranate available near you, substitute raspberries, quartered strawberries, or kiwi.

Festive Jicama Salad

Serves 4 – 6

1 pound jicama

1 large pomegranate (see substitutions above)

2 tablespoons finely shredded mint leaves

Fresh lime juice to taste (3 – 4 tablespoons)

First peel the jicama.  Sometimes the tough skin is hard to remove with a peeler, so I generally just use a knife.  Next, use the large holes of a hand or box grater to shred the jicama.

Now you’re ready to deal with the pomegranate.  Take a deep breath and don’t panic!  First, get a wide, shallow bowl half full of water.  Next, slice around the “equator” of the pomegranate and twist or pry gently to separate the two halves.  Hold half the pomegranate, cut side down, over the bowl of water.  Use a wooden spoon to whack on the pomegranate until the seeds fall into the water.  Repeat with the other half.

The pomegranate seeds will sink to the bottom of the bowl and most of the pithy bits will float.  You may need to stick your hands in the bowl to separate some of the seeds.  Discard the floating matter, carefully pour off the water, and collect the seeds.  If you want, you can put them on paper towels to dry before placing them in your salad bowl.

Add the shredded jicama and mint leaves to the pomegranate, and top with lime juice.  Gently toss the salad and either serve immediately, or cover and chill for a few hours.  If you are making this in Mexico, the mint may taste slightly different.  Most mint available there is spearmint rather than peppermint.

Now, wasn’t that easier than you expected!

Fair winds and following seas,

Heather, The Cruising Cook

Preparing the Jicama		Preparing the Pomagranate
Using a knife to remove the tough skin of the jicama may be easier than a peeler.	Grating the jicama onto wax paper makes it easy to transfer it to the bowl.	Cutting all around the outside of the pomagranate minimizes damage to the seeds.	Hold half the pomagranate over the water and whack it strongly with a spoon to release the seeds.