Jicama Mango Salsa Fresca

My mama used to give me chilled slices of jicama when I was a kid. Back then, I used to pronounce it “jee-ka-muh”—only as an adult did I learn that I had been butchering this sweet juicy tuber’s name. I had no idea it was a latin name, thus should be pronounced “hick-uh-muh.”

If you follow my blog, then you may already know that I don’t like to drone on and on about my boring life. Instead, I like to share the interesting facts about ingredients for each recipe, be it nutritional value, how the produce got its name, etc. 

Jicama (Pachyrhizus Erosus), also called Mexican turnip, Chinese turnip, is a native Mexican vine that belongs to the legume family! Each vine can climb as high as 14-20 feet tall with gorgeous flowers of white or blue, and the edible tuberous tap roots are what we eat. However, everything else on the plant above ground is toxic, so take precaution if you decide to grow this in your garden. The leaves, stems, flowers, and seed pods all contain rotenone, a colorless, odorless broad spectrum insecticide/pesticide that naturally occurs in some plants, such as the jicama. It takes roughly 9 months from seed to harvest.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium jicama (about 1 pound) ~ diced
• 2 small Ataúlfo mangos ~ diced
• 1 medium shallot ~ finely diced
• 1 jalapeño or serrano ~ finely diced
• 1 cup organic cilantro leaves ~ chopped
• juice of 3 medium limes
• freshly ground black pepper
• freshly ground sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prepare all your ingredients. Combine all the ingredient in a large mixing bowl and gently mix with a spatula.
2. Serve chilled with fish tacos, topped on salads, or with chips. Enjoy! 🙂