Beet, Jicama and Pepita Salad

The sweetness of beets combined with the crispness of the jicama, tossed in a simple lime dressing, come together to create a delicious and refreshing salad. Jicama is a mild, crunchy, and slightly sweet-tasting root vegetable that has a lot of healthy properties. If you’ve never tried it before, I recommend giving it a try; it’s pretty easy to like. Read here for more info about nutritional properties of jicama.

I found the recipe in a Rick Bayless cookbook, and just made a few changes. Because I had these salad greens in my garden, I substituted the radicchio that the recipe called for. I also substituted toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) for the peanuts.

What you need:

• 1 pound beets (about 4 medium beets)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or unrefined peanut oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice plus a little zest
• 1 teaspoon agave nectar
• 1/2 pound (about 1/2 medium) jicama, peeled and cut into 3/4 cm thick batons
• salt to taste
• salad greens
• 1/4 cup pepitas, toasted and cooled

What you do:

1. Cook the beets in boiling water until they are soft all the way through. When cooled, peel and cut into 3/4 cm thick batons.
2. Whisk the oil, lime juice, lime zest and agave nectar together.
3. Combine the beets, jicama, and dressing. Salt to taste.
4. Serve the beets and jicama on top of the greens. Sprinkle with the pepitas to serve.