Roasted Corn and Jicima Salad

       Tired of the same old vegetables in your salads, and on your table? How about try something new! For those of you that have never had Jicima it is a root that is crunchy like an apple, but not sweet, it has a finish similar to a watercress that has just a little bit of bite. You can cook it, but I prefer to use it for crudite or in in a salad.  I love these type of salads this time of year because it just makes me feel like spring is in the air!  And what better way to celebrate spring, and this lovely vegetable than with the Latin American flavors that we find where this delicious root comes from.  Let's Begin with the dressing shall we?

Jalapeno Lime Viniagrette

1 Jalapeno- Roasted-  put in a pan under the broiler turning on a regular basis to char the outside.  Once it is charred put in a container covered to let it finish cooking itself while you are getting the other ingredients together.  Next you will need

Zest and Juice of 1 Lime

1 Tsp Shallot, minced

1 TBS rice wine vinegar

1 TBS honey

1/4 tsp ground cumin

pinch of salt and pepper

puree all of this (including the jalapeno, seed it if you don't want the heat) together then slowly  drizzle in

1 cup salad oil to make an emulsified dressing

For the salad itself you are going to need 

1 Jicima root- Peel it and then cut it into a fat matchstick shape about 1/4 inch square by 1 1/2 inches long

1 ear of corn,  roasted then the kernels removed- you can roast this similarly to the jalapeno, just rub it down with a little bit of oil salt and pepper then put it in the oven under the broiler, turn it as it begins to brown just a bit and then let it cool and cut the kernels off the cob. 

1/4 red onion, julienne

1 roasted red pepper, peeled, seeded and diced

1 TBS roughly chopped cilantro
Toss it in about half the dressing and then add a little bit until it has enough moisture.  I like to save the rest of the dressing to put on whatever greens I use to go under the salad.   Hope you enjoy this delicious, fresh way to ring in spring!