Vegetable of the Week: Jicama

Jicama

Jicama is a root  vegetable that is used in South American and Asian cuisine.  Jicama is pronounced as “hecama”. It has been compared to an apple, asian pear, crunchy potato, water chestnut, or turnip. The vegetable is great source of fiber and tastes different depending on how you prepare it.

Previous Experience:  I have never seen one before I went to Harris Teeter. It was in the turnip and greens section. It was on sale and looked like a potato – so I thought why not.

How to Pick a Good Jicama:  It is a root vegetable at its core. It is going to be bumpy and brown and rough. Don’t pick it if there are lots of brown spots or mold.

Prepping the Vegetable: Don’t eat the skin! You need to peel this vegetable before cooking with it.  I tried a vegetable peeler on the first one and it was a disaster. I would advise a chef knife and cutting it into more a square. Then slice it into the shape you want.

Ways I Prepared It: Raw and Baked

The jicama tastes more like an apple when it is raw and more like a potato when it is cooked or baked.  My husband liked it better raw. I liked it better when it was baked.

• Raw Options
  • Jicama with Lime Juice (really delicious)
  • Jicama in a fruit salad with oranges, apples, pineapple and melon (tasty)
  • Jicama and hummus (My husband liked this but I did not.)
  • Jicama with avocados, pepper, and cilantro  (I tried this and liked it. My husband did not.)
• Baked Fries
  •  Pintrest had great ideas for jicama fries. I really liked this one!
    • Note: The fries still taste a bit like apple. I really liked them. My husband did not.. so I ate them for dinner and lunch the next day!
  • I also liked this recipe because the jicama came out more like fries and more crunchy. It does take longer to cook because you also put them in the microwave before the oven – but I found the effort to be worth it. This recipe does use  smoked paprika which I have on hand in my pantry. If you don’t have that spice, cumin, or paprika, or any spicy rub will work just as well. (I also got to eat all of these by myself!)