Jicama-Citrus Salad

Recipe by Nora Mounce

Jicama-Citrus Salad with Canna-Olive Oil Vinaigrette

An eye-catching dish to share at a potluck, this salad is also a wonderfully refreshing side for taco night. The recipe is more of a concept than a strict formula – feel free to experiment with your own twist, such as adding avocado, subbing chunks of grapefruit or using feta cheese. Tossed in a simple lime juice and canna-olive oil vinaigrette, the salad comes together quickly after prepping the jicama (see note below). Check your local Hispanic food market to purchase the jicama, Cotija cheese and chili-spiced pepitas in one stop. Garnish with fresh cannabis leaves and enjoy!

Ingredients

12 mandarin oranges
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons canna-olive oil
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
*1 medium jicama (about 1 pound)—peeled and thinly sliced into matchsticks
¼ cup chopped cilantro
½ cup Cotija cheese, crumbled
**¼ cup chili-spiced pepitas

Instructions

Peel the mandarins, separating each wedge and removing as much pith (the fibrous white tissue inside citrus fruit) as possible. Set aside. Peel the jicama, (taking care to remove the entire peel) and cut into matchsticks a ¼ inch wide; add to mandarins. Whisk lime juice, apple cider vinegar, olive oil and cayenne together. Toss mandarins, jicama and vinaigrette together. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Liberally top salad with chopped cilantro, cojita cheese and pepitas.

*Jicama is a chore to peel. I’ve found that resting the large vegetable on a cutting board and using a paring knife (work carefully!) to remove the exterior peel is most effective. Then peel entire jicama again using a vegetable peeler, to quickly remove the remaining interior layers of peel.

**If you can’t find the delicious pre-seasoned chili pepitas at your local Hispanic food market, use raw pepitas and do the following:

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a small skillet. When lightly smoking, add ¼ cup pepitas, a generous pinch of paprika and a dash of cayenne pepper and salt. Cook over low-medium heat for about 10 minutes or until pepitas take on a golden hue. Remove from heat and allow to cool before sprinkling on salad.