Jicama Salad with Honey Clementine Vinaigrette

Jicama

Jicama (pronounced hee-cama) is a low-carb, low-calorie root vegetable native to Mexico that can be eaten raw or cooked! It shares the same color and shape as a turnip, but is about 2-3 times the size. The texture of jicama’s root is likened to a potato, and is firm as a pear. Its flesh is juicy and crunchy, with a slightly sweet and nutty flavor. Some think it tastes like a cross between a potato and a pear. Others compare it to a water chestnut. Other names for jicama include yam bean, Mexican potato, Mexican water chestnut and Chinese turnip.

Jicama contains many important vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, folate, potassium and magnesium. It’s low in calories and high in fiber and water. It also contains antioxidants, including vitamins C and E and beta-carotene.

Ways to Enjoy Jicama

• The best way is to to just peel the outer part of jicama, cut in half and into julienne sticks. Enjoy it raw with your favorite dip. It’s very good when refrigerated for a little extra coolness too. 
• Add jicama in spring or summer rolls.
• Make a salad adding in cubed jicama.
• Bake jicama sticks as fries.
• Stir-fry jicama as its flesh stays crisp when cooked briefly, adding a refreshing crunch to any stir-fry. Try it with broccoli, garlic, ginger, scallions, and toasted sesame seeds or cashews.
  

Jicama Salad with Honey Clementine Vinaigrette

Cook's Notes: Looking for a healthy side for your holiday meal or as a side to a Mexican dish?  This vegan salad bursts with healthy veggies and a splash of a citrus vinaigrette. Rejoice-some larger grocery stores carry jicama already peeled and cut into julienne strips! 
Recipe serves 4. 

• 2 cups  jicama, cubed 
• 1 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
• 3/4 cup yellow bell pepper, finely diced
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1 cup cucumber, seeded, chopped
• 2-3 clementines, peeled into sections
• Mixed greens 
• Optional: 2 avocados, diced 
• Optional: fresh cilantro 1/4 cup 

Honey Clementine Vinaigrette Ingredients:

• Juice of three clementines to equal 1/3 cup or substitute with fresh orange juice
• 6 TB. extra-virgin olive oil or Blood Orange Olive Oil
• 2 TB. honey (add more to taste)
• 3 tsp. white balsamic vinegar, Cranberry Pear White Balsamic or Pomegranate Quince Balsamic
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• To make the vinaigrette, add all the ingredients together in a blender or pour into a small mason jar, shake to combine. If you use a mason jar, you can keep the leftover vinaigrette in the jar and store in the refrigerator.
  Mix salad ingredients except greens and toss lightly with citrus vinaigrette. Let set 10 minutes. 
• Serve salad mixture over a bed of greens.