Jicama Chips

After 3 new veggies this past weekend, I still had one more left over from my weekend trip to the grocery store. New Veggie #18, the choice for today, is Jicama. 

Prep Time: 15-20 min

Ingredients:

1. 1 Jicama tuber, thinkly sliced
2. Pam Olive oil spray
3. Cayenne pepper, to taste
4. Coarse sea salt, to taste

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400F while cleaning and preparing slices of Jicama. Spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam and sprinkle cayenne pepper. Hold the salt until after the chips are done. Place cookie sheet in oven for 5 minutes, remove and turn chips over and return to oven until done. Once done, transfer to serving plate and sprinkle sea salt to taste. 

Jicama Chips

Nik's Reaction: Mom, I want some chips! He was surprised when he first bit into one, as he was expecting the crunch of a potato chip, and these had a different kind of crunch to them. He ate 3 and didn't want anymore. Oh well .. at least he tried them!

My Assessment: I really liked them. I think the texture was kinda like biting into a raw onion, soft, yet crisp and crunchy. I'm glad I used cayenne pepper as that enhanced the sweetness of the jicama.  I'll definitely make it again. 

Veggie Fact of the Day

The Sweet Jicama

The Jicama (also called Mexican Yam bean) is apparently quite popular in Mexican food. Even with my deep love and devotion for Mexican food, I don't remember having actually eaten it before. It looked a lot like a rather large turnip and when I cut into it, had the crunch of an apple. It is best described as crispy, sweet, edible root. When buying, go for the smaller sizes as those are sweeter and the larger ones are more woody. The Jicama is actually a leguminous plant, with its wines growing to be quite long (up to 20 feet). Each vine ends in the tuberous root which is pictured on the left. Before eating or cooking, the coarse brown outer layer of the tuber should be peeled to reveal the white inside. Jicama are especially rich in potassium and Vitamin C.