Name: Mango Jicama Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Tropical
Ingredients: 3 cups julienned kale; 2 cups jicama, peeled and diced; 2 cups mangoes (about 2 mangoes), peeled and diced; 1 cup of red cabbage, sliced; 1 cup shredded carrots; 1 cucumber sliced and then quartered; 1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed; Zest from one lime

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I was at a business meeting a few months ago and one of the dishes they had for lunch was a mango jicama salad. It looked delicious but it was covered in oil so I couldn’t eat it. I happened to have a number of mangoes at home that I’d bought for another recipe that I didn’t get around to making so I decided to try my hand at this.

Mango Jicama Salad

While I started this recipe in the middle of February and it probably wasn’t the ideal season for this fruity, tropical salad, it is now nearly May so my timing is perfect! It was fabulous in February and I’m certain this will also taste great when it is 97 degrees outside and you don’t feel like heating up the kitchen.

If you’ve never tried jicama (pronounced HIH-cuh-muh) before this is a great way to try it. It looks a little bit like a coconut and the texture is somewhere between a potato and a pear. It is crunchy, slightly sweet and very refreshing. I get them at our local grocery store and they also typically have them at Asian grocery stores. They are great sliced up in salads or you can just eat them plain. Be sure to peel them first as the outer skin is very fibrous.

Jicama

Not only are they tasty, but the unassuming jicama is a great source of phytonutrients: plant-based chemicals with strong anti-oxidant powers. From a nutritional standpoint, 1 cup of jicama provides:

40% of your daily recommended value of vitamin C
24% of your daily recommended value of fiber
4% of your daily recommended value of potassium, iron and magnesium

If you are looking for an interesting salad that includes many colors of the rainbow and a shot of protein and fiber from the black beans, try this salad. It is also a nice change from the typical lettuce, tomato, and carrot version. Serve it on a bad of julienned kale for even more nutritional bang for your buck.

This mango jicama salad pairs well with Mexican or Asian food and can be eaten as a main dish or a side. We ate it with baked potato soup and it was a nice combo of hearty and filling (soup) and light and refreshing. Don’t forget the lime zest—it adds that little zip that just makes the recipe.