One of the things I like best about writing this blog is that it gives me an added incentive to explore new ideas and discover foods I haven’t tried before.

Jicama (pr. hicama), the Mexican root vegetable, is one of those. I discovered jicama last year when I tried it in an Asian slaw in place of daikon radish which I couldn’t find locally (and still haven’t, to be honest). Since then I’ve used it often in slaw-type salads. And here it is again. I got this fantastic salad recipe from Vegetarian Times. It is simple to make with just the right mix of flavors, colors and textures. And it’s super nutritious too!

The dressing is unusal but very good. I wouldn’t have thought of using frozen concentrated orange juice in salad dressing but it works really well. It’s citrusy and slightly spicy and would be great with a leafy green salad too. And you can pop open the carton of frozen juice and just spoon out as much as you need for the recipe then freeze the rest.

2 cups grated raw beets (6 oz, 170g, 2 medium sized beets), which we call beetroot, peeled and grated 

2 cups (6 oz, 170g) grated jicama, peeled and grated

2 navel orange, peeled, cut into segments pith removed

1 medium ripe avocado, peeled pitted and sliced

1/2 cup (small handful) chopped cilantro (coriander)

3 tablespoons thawed orange juice concentrate

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup (small handful) toasted pumpkin seeds (optional).

 Assemble all of the vegetables and fruit in a suitable bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the orange juice, lime juice, cumin, coriander and olive oil. Whisk until combine. Pour over the salad and garnish with the cilantro (coriander) and pumpkins seeds if using.