Jicama & Strawberry Salad

Jicama was one of those “mystery foods” to me for a very long time. I was skeptical to try it for years. Was it a potato? A fruit? A vegetable? How could this confused little food possibly be trusted?

Not to mention the strangely husky, waxy coating. I mean, what kind of food produces wax?

Then, my amazing sister-in-law fed it to me. I never saw it coming … and holy cow did I love it. I immediately fell for its kinda juicy, crisp texture and slightly sweet flavor. Suddenly, the possibilities of this mighty food seemed endless.

So to answer the question “what is it?” Jicama is actually a root vegetable (it’s also classified as a tuber.) It’s the big, round root of a bean plant grown mostly in Central America, but don’t let “bean” scare you…you’re good to go it you’re fully AIP.

And jicama boasts some pretty great benefits too:

It’s nearly 90% water, making it naturally low in calories, sugars and starch.
It offers a good amount of Vitamin C, magnesium and potassium.
It’s a great source of prebiotic fiber (oligofructose inulin.)
Great support for digestion and immune function.

Oh and just to clear things up – it doesn’t ACTUALLY produce wax (this is how rumors get started.) They are given a wax coating before shipping to help preserve it in transit. The outer skin gets removed before serving anyway, so no harm no foul.  Just make sure you wash the jicama thoroughly after peeling!

In this recipe, the ever-so-slightly sweet flavor of the jicama and strawberry are a great contrast to the green onion and cilantro, and it’s all wrapped up nicely with a smooth champagne vinaigrette!

This is a great side to a dense protein like beef or pork. And for variety, throw a little mint or avocado in the mix 😊

Yield: 4

Author: Amanda Runnels

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Jicama & Strawberry Salad

Prep time: 20 MinTotal time: 20 Min

A cool and crisp AIP side dish that comes together in a snap!

Ingredients

Jicama and Strawberry Salad

• 1 1/2 cups jicama, cubed
• 1 cucumber, sliced and quartered approximately 1 cup (preferably English cucumber)
• 1 cup strawberries, sliced or cut into thirds (depending on size)
• 2/3 cups cilantro, chopped
• 2 green onion, finely sliced
• 3 tablespoons vinaigrette

Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
• ½ - 1 tablespoon honey (to desired sweetness)
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

Salad

1. Prepare all vegetables, cilantro and strawberries.
2. In a large bowl, combine all vegetables and cilantro. Toss with 2-3 tablespoons of vinaigrette.
3. Add the strawberries just before serving and toss.

Vinaigrette

1. Combine all ingredients in a mason jar. Shake well to combine.

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