Simple Cooking: Jicama With Mint and Lime

By Caitlin Klein in Food on Aug 29, 2012 7:00PM

Remember to zest your limes before you juice them. It\'s really hard to get zest off of empty lime rinds.

To juice limes, you could use a citrus reamer, a juicer, a specialty lime squeezin\' tool, or your big strong hands. Any way you do it, try not to stop until the lime rinds are dry and defeated looking. Sad.

For this recipe, use small spearmint leaves like these. if your mint is larger, roughly chop the leaves so you have smaller pieces.

Jicama is crisp, mild, and a great base to pair with acids like citrus juice. It’s best raw and freshly sliced. One of the tougher things about jicama is peeling off the skin without wasting too much of the insides. Jicama is usually pretty round, so it’s difficult to contour a flat tool like a knife around the edges with much precision. You can try a vegetable peeler, but it’s super likely that you will end up with bloody knuckles, and we know how blood makes you faint. Wuss. Our best advice is to use a very sharp knife, stand the jicama on its side, and slice off the top and the bottom. Lay the jicama down like a disc and work your knife around the sides to shave off the woody, dry outsides. The jicama inside will be white and crisp.

It’s still hot as hades out there, but the heat wave can’t last forever. This mixture should be enough to cool you down. Grasp onto the last straws of summer and try our refreshing salad made with jicama, mint, and lime.

Chicagoist’s Jicama with Mint and Lime

You’ll Need:

1 jicama, peeled and cut into strips
2 limes, zested and juiced
1 handful small fresh mint leaves, or larger leaves roughly chopped

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and stir to coat with the lime juice. Store in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving. Toss periodically to pervade the jicama with lime juice.