How to Cook Jicama

Jicama, also known as yam bean or Mexican turnip, originated south of the border. It's a cousin of the sweet potato and has a crisp, sweet taste. Jicama is often sold as a street food, perfect when sprinkled with lime juice and chili powder. It's also used in soups and stir-fried dishes. Cook it, eat it, and share it, but use only the root--the rest of the plant is poisonous.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Try jicama (a legume family member) in bean salads. Households in Latin America use it as a dietary staple and you can use it as a rich source of fiber. Jicama tastes great with black beans. For a perfect blend, use any basic bean salad recipe and add about 1 cup diced jicama to the ingredients.
2. Use jicama as an exotic health food that's easy to prepare and tastes good. It's a good source of potassium and Vitamin C, is low in sodium, has no fat and one serving (1 cup, cubed) contains only about 45 calories.
3. Get your veggies with a jicama salad. Mix together 3 medium fresh and shredded jicama, 1 diced apple and 1/2 cup chopped pecans in a small bowl. Prepare the dressing by mixing together in another bowl: 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon fresh and grated lime peel, 2 teaspoon lime juice, 2 1/2 tablespoons honey, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon marjoram. Thoroughly blend the dressing into the jicama mixture and chill before serving.
4. Impress company or your family with a quick and easy jicama dish by mixing together 1 clove of garlic, 1/4 pound jicama (peeled and julienned) and 2 tablespoons chopped red bell peppers. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Once skillet is hot, add the jicama mixture, sprinkle it with 1/8 teaspoon paprika, 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Sauté the entire mixture for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Microwave a super-fast jicama appetizer. Place one pound peeled and cubed jicama into a 2-quart casserole dish with 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook for 8 or 9 minutes, stirring once. Serve with a dip made of honey, butter, salt and pepper, sweet and sour sauce, sour cream, yogurt or your favorite salad dressing.

Tips & Warnings

• One pound jicama yields about 3 cups chopped.
• Once sliced, keep the jicama root in a plastic storage bag in your refrigerator where it should stay fresh for about two weeks. Fresh whole roots should be stored in a dry place, no colder than 53 to 60 degrees F, where they'll keep for a month or two.