What the hell is Jicama? That was my initial thought when I ordered a salad from the café at my office in Tribeca but I figured that I had nothing to lose since they always make incredible lunches (don’t even get me started on the Creamy Tomato Soup with mini grill cheese croutons and drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar Reduction). 
I discovered that Jicama is pronounced with a silent “J”, as in Jesus from Mehico. Jicama is a crispy, sweet, edible root that resembles a turnip in physical appearance. Jicama is a great source of vitamin c and is fat free—making it a superb on-the-go snack.
When I was making my fresh direct order this week, I saw that Jicama was in the house (doesn’t that sound better now that you know how to pronounce it?).
I decided that I was going to replicate my lunch – sure enough I found the recipe on Epicurious.com and ended up adding my own gourmet touch.
1 ears fresh corn
1 small mangoes, peeled, pitted, coarsely chopped
1/2 jicama, peeled, chopped or shredded
1 cup chopped red onion (I used Shallots)
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (I skipped this)
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Serves 1 (me!)
Cook corn in pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes. Drain and cool corn. Cut off enough kernels and place corn in medium bowl. Add mangoes, jicama, red onion, cilantro and lime juice. Toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until cold. (Can be prepared 3 hours ahead. Keep refrigerated.) Serve cold.
Then I took the salad a step further – I served it over a bed of Mache lettuce (a.k.a Lambs lettuce) and added pan fried scallops that were sautéed in a touch of butter and seasoned with salt and pepper.
Et voila – mon souper!
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