Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Xek' (Jicama Orange Salad)

This salad, called xek' in Yucatan, is spicy and refreshing. It's often eaten by children as an afternoon snack when it is hot outside. If I had been able to find tangerines, I would have added one, as it would have given a nice sweetness. At Mexican grocery stores it is possible to find a chile spice mixture that is blended especially for dishes like this. But as it contains refined sugar, I don't use it. Instead I use either cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.

Xek'

1 small jicama
1 or 2 oranges
1 or 2 tangerines
1 lime
cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes
salt if needed
finely chopped cilantro, as an optional garnish

Cut away or peel the skins of the jicama, oranges and tangerines, removing the bitter white pith of the oranges. Slice into desired shape. Sprinkle with the juice of the lime. Sprinkle chile to desired spice level, salt if needed, and garnish with cilantro.

3 comments:

Pieceful Jane said...

This looks yummy!

Ana said...

This must be delicious!! I love oranges in salad and they do pair well with the crunchy jicama! Sounds very refreshing and good!!
Ana

Kathleen said...

It is interesting because Pedro says that when he was growing up in Mexico, this salad used to be considered Junk Food! But actually jicama has so many vitamins and health benefits like folic acid, vitamin C, etc... Of course now he knows how good for you it is. But he still has an association with this dish being just a refreshing treat of no nutritional value.