I have to be honest, I had chosen another ingredient for this week's recipe but as I got an hour or so into the prep and realized I had family coming over for dinner and was not even close to having any food ready...decided to opt for something simpler - but no less tasty - than my first choice.

I have little experience with Jicama other than remembering it's consistency to be like a crispy pear so I experimented a little and looked into traditional preparation methods to see where to begin.  I came up with a side-dish that can be snacked on alone, served with spicy appetizer-type foods, or beefed up and made into a salad.

As an hors d'oeuvre best with Mexican/Spanish food, serves 6.

Ingredients:

1 Large Jicama (1 1/2 - 2lbs)

3 Tbsp lime juice

*2-4 Tbsp of Pico de Gallo spice mix

Handful of fresh spearmint

*You can make this mix yourself but the brand I use is so good, I can't use anything else.  I use Madrecita, a San Diego company.  The spice mix is roughly a blend of Salt, Chilies (dried Cayenne, New Mexico, Ancho, Chipotle), Lemon Peel, and Sugar.

Preparation:

Peel the Jicama and slice into 1/4" sticks or cubes and transfer to a large mixing bowl.  Add the lime juice, the spices, and the mint and mix well.  Chill until ready to serve and enjoy!

I realized after making this that it could be turned into a really nice, refreshing summer salad by adding Watermelon.  I was actually very inspired by Jicama and thought of so many great things that it could be used for with it's unique, subtle flavor and fresh, crispy consistency.  Look for it to feature again soon...

P.S...sorry for the late post!