Jicama!!! I can't say for certain whether I had ever tried this, but knew I wanted to :) I have no idea whether it's "in season", or if it even grows around here, but... for the sake of experimentation and my health, I picked it up. Jicama, or yam bean (bean, really???), is the edible root of a poisonous plant!
With this in hand, I decided to spend my night cutting away while I watched the Phils... until it was way past my bedtime and then they decided to CALL THE GAME. ~sigh~ I enjoyed it for dinner tonight, so the flavors had some time to meld which was nice. Great slaw, so crunchy, full of fall flavors (but i still miss summer!). Look at those colors!!!
Jicama Fall Slaw
slaw by Shannon, dressing from Pinch My Salt
1/2 jicama, peeled and cut into matchsticks (i have no idea how much it weighed... sorry folks)
1 honeycrisp apple, cut into matchsticks
1 bartlett pear, cut into matchsticks (any pear would work, this one was just the cheapest!)
1 large carrot, grated
1/4 red cabbage, thinly sliced (i think mine was ~1/2 lb)
pomegranate arils, for garnish
Honey Vinaigrette
(I doubt I used the amount of olive oil called for, but I whisked until it came together)
Since I was preparing this the night before, I put the cut jicama, apple and pear into water spiked with lemon juice for a bit until everything else was ready to roll. Then I just mixed it all together (except arils) and let it sit in the fridge until dinnertime tonight, adding the arils just before serving!
ps- my hands were all sorts of colored after all this cutting... maybe you want to use gloves?
Somebody wanted a closeup...
What's the other addition to my plate? Another trial for me--tofu! I've done the silken tofu in various desserts, but this is the first time I've used the firm tofu, pressed, marinated, and baked! Came out pretty good (the marinade was from something else I'll post about later), but even with more slaw this did not fill me up... although I wasn't hungry, I was just left feeling like something was missing. I often feel like this when I don't include meat, even when I have alternate forms of protein (tofu, legumes...). I think it's all in my head. I'll have to work on that, since I'm thinking it'd save me some of my heard-earned-too-quickly-disappearing $$.
26 comments:
Wow- this is gorgeous! I have never used Jicama! Way to experiment! I am so annoyed that the Phil's game got called :( did you get snow up there today?
~phew~ no snow yet!!
i love jicama slaw (when i've had it at restaurants)... go you for making it from scratch at home!
Can't say I've had Jicama, but now I want to. Another great recipe you've come up with!
umm.. yum! I keep seeing jicama in the store and am wanting to try it, I think you have given me motivation to give it a go.
Yum! I've only had it in restaurants because the "bean" itself looks so scary in the store. You're so creative Shannon. I love it!
I love jicama but I've never actually cooked with it myself! That's such a great idea. I don't know if I've ever even seen it in the store! Well, I probably have, but I just didn't know what it looked like. I'm definitely going to have to try it.
i'm not sure if i've ever had jicama before... this looks outstanding though, you really are SO talented!!!
I thought I saw Tofu! Good for you for heading that route, I think that's cool. And yes, I got your Motley joke... I laughed :)
Love all of the colors!! Looks great!!
I've definitely never had jicama before... I LOVE YOUR FALL SLAW!!!!!! Amazing culinary brilliance you have - I'm constantly inspired.
Wow - this looks fabulous! I'll have to look for a jicama next time I'm at Whole Foods (um, now that I know what the heck it looks like!).
PS - Now I'll be singing Motley Crue all day :)
PPS - Go Phils!! Clear skies today (so far) here -- I feel a win coming on!
You are such a good cook! This is an awesome idea and it looks beautiful!
I love jicama - its like a cross between cucumber and potato almost!
And I thought that background information on it was interesting! I've never heard that before! Your dinner looks quite yummy! :)
Oh yum, I love jicama sooo much! There used to be a place near school that would make and Asian salad with: chicken, mandarin oranges, jicama, dried cranberries, pistachios, carrots and some other goodies. Oh man, just thinking about that is seriously making my mouth water!
I have seen jicama at the store and wondered how to eat it. Thanks for clearing that up for me. Looks good!
Jicama is awesome. I always use in whenever I am doing an asian slaw. I also use it as a substitute for waterchestnuts in stir fry's on occasion. I use them a lot when I am doing vegetable carvings for buffet functions because they don't oxidize and turn brown like most vegetables. Great blog. You have so much enthusiasm for food.
Keep up the good writing.
Love jicama! And poms so you know I am all about this. I can't believe you guys are talking about know. It's 94 today!!
This looks great! I love jicama...and loved what you combined it with!
First time here...found you on the Foodie Blogroll!
Not only do the flavors and ingredients sound amazing, but it looks beautiful too! I'd love to try and recreate this. Thanks for the recipe :)
Wow - now this is looking great! I'd totally love this!
-DTW
www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com
Wow, that looks so pretty! Love all the vibrant colors!
Hey- thank you for the response! I finally got it working. Crazy blogger :)
You're such the cook! I love all of the cool things you come up with! What exactly does Jicama taste like (sorry if you mentioned it.. I looked!)?
haha, oops, sorry ashley! hmm, how to describe it, more crunchy than flavorfull. i've heard it compared to water chestnuts in that they don't have too much of a taste on their own. But they are full of fiber and great texture!
that looks soooo good! i love jicama!
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