Jicama and Orange Salad Recipe
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This is a quick, simple salad that’s packed with flavor, texture, and color—all the things required of a good salad.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound jicama
- 1 medium lime
- 2 medium oranges
- 1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 medium jalapeño, stemmed and finely chopped
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Peel the jicama and cut into sticks about 2 inches long and 1/4 inch thick; place in a large bowl.
- Finely grate the zest of the lime and add to the bowl of jicama. Cut the lime in half and squeeze one lime half over the jicama; set the second half aside.
- Finely zest one of the oranges (you should have about 1 tablespoon) and add to the bowl of jicama.
- Slice 1/4 inch off the top and bottom of the zested orange and set it flat on a work surface.
Using a paring knife, follow the curve of the orange and slice off any remaining peel and white pith. 
Working over the bowl of jicama, slice between the membranes to release the segments or supremes_. !{display:block;margin-top:.5em;}/assets/2011/06/challah_french_toast3.jpg! Discard the membrane and peels. (Chef Michael Symon demonstrates how to segment citrus in this CHOW Tip video.) Repeat with segmenting the second orange (you do not need to zest this orange). - Add the bell pepper and cilantro and stir to combine. Add the jalapeño to taste and season with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and more lime juice as needed.
"preferable to Chili Powder which is too heavy handed for such a light salad."
i just had the jicama orange salad at Chichen Itza in LA this weekend, and i can assure you that chili powder is not heavy handed for this kind of salad. chichen itza seemed to use finely ground dried red chiles (chile de arbol maybe?) to give the salad some flavor. it was just a *little* more coarsely ground than chile powder.
Dear Eat Nopal,
I agree with LauraB706 chill about the Bell Pepper issue! If you want more fire then add it but don't steer cooks that may be novices on the wrong path just because you have a personal bias or palette blind spot!
Chili Powder would ruin the delicate flavor balance of this salad! At the most you could suggest a slight addition of some mild Ortega type chiles julienned and added to taste, definitely preferable to Chili Powder which is too heavy handed for such a light salad.
Dear Eat Nopal,
Just because YOU HATE a vegetable with a passion, it is no reason to steer others away from it.
Red Bell Peppers and dried chil powder have very little in common.
One is not a good substitute for the other.
There's nothing tastier than an exotic salad :-)
Red Bell Peppers? Yuck.... I cannot understand the obsession with Bell Peppers, I hate them with a passion. You are much, much better of using a decent dried chili powder like El Mexicano.