Jicama Slaw

I absolutely love trying new foods- especially vegetables/fruits.  My ideal weekly trip to the grocery store would involve buying something I've never tried before every single time.  I'm putting that into practice starting this week, and so my excursion to the store today lead me straight to jicama.  For those of you who who have not consulted the all-knowing wikipedia and have never had a jicama (aka Mexican turnip), this is a sweet and starchy tuberous root, with a crisp texture that is somewhat like a less-sweet apple combined with that of raw green beans. (I guess I can't argue with that, although it reminded me of something else that I can't quite place my finger on yet.)  I thought the best way to experience this to start would be in a really simple preparation, and I found one in Great Food Fast, which as you may have noticed is one of my goto cookbooks.  In it jicama is paired with just a few ingredients, and is super simple to put together, especially if you have a mandoline or something that can julienne your jicama for you, rather than doing it by hand.

Jicama Slaw
Serves 4


Ingredients:
1 medium jicama (1-1 1/2 pounds), peeled and julienned
1/2 small red onion, or about 1/3 med-large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
2-3 tbsp fresh lime juice (from 1-2 limes)
Coarse salt and pepper

Directions:
1.  Combine jicama, onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper.  Toss and serve, or refrigerate until serving.
2. Yep, it's that easy :)

Source: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast

Notes:

• The recipe says to serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 6 hours.  What happens after 6 hours?  I don't know, but I'll find out soon because I didn't eat this all, and I plan to have some tomorrow.  I'll let you know the results of this daring experiment soon!
• The onion is kind of strong in this, but I love red onion.  Just beware though that it can have an adverse effect on your breath.  Consider this your warning.
• I enjoyed this simple preparation of jicama, but next time I'm ready for more- traditionally it is paired with chili powder, so I think I'll incorporate that into my next jicama outing.