Pico de gallo II (Jícama snack)

This jícama snack is what my grandmother knew as "pico the gallo;" the tomato-based pico de gallo she knew as "salsa cruda" (fresh sauce [lit. "raw sauce," to distinguished it from "cooked" tomato sauce). This snack is unusual, delicious and very refreshing,

Ingredients

1 medium jícama

juice from 1 large lime

2 medium oranges

the grated rind from one of the oranges

leaves from 2-3 sprigs of fresh coriander, chopped

seeds from 1 pomegranate

salt, to taste

Peel the jícama and cut it into 1/2" cubes. Place the jícama cubes in a bowl and add the lime juice, chopped coriander, salt and grated rind, mixing well. Leave in refrigerator for 3-4 hours, mixing once or twice.

Take the jícama out of the refrigerator. Peel the oranges and separate the segments (see notes), cutting the segments in sizes matching the jícama cubes. Toss carefully the orange pieces with the jícama and return the snack to the refridgerator for about 1/2 hour. Serve in individual plates with a tall rim or bowls, making sure each plate has a bit of the juice, then top with pomegranate seeds. The snack can be eaten with a spoon (because of the juice) or fork.

Notes

You can buy jícama in Chinese supermarkets, where it is used enough in Chinese cooking to find fresh roots in their supermarkets. I have found that the jícama in Latin American stores doesn't move as fast, and therefore is not as fresh.

Peeling the jícama by hand leaves a rough outer layer that is dry and not pleasant to eat. I find the best way to peel the jícama is to cut the peel off with a sharp knife until you get to the juicy part, about 1/8 of an inch.

The orange peel and pomegranate seeds are not part of the traditional way to make this pico de gallo. I added the peel because it infuses the jícama with a deep orange flavor. If the flavor is too strong for you, you can add the peel of only half an orange, or you can skip the peel altogether.

The pomegranate seeds add a beautiful color contrast and pleasant flavor, and of course, you could skip these, too. When I first added them to the pico de gallo, I added them at with the lime juice, which meant that after repeated mixing, most of the seeds ended up at the bottom of the bowl. I think it works better to add them to the individual dishes.

Traditionally, pico de gallo is served on a bowl with toothpicks to pick the jícama and orange pieces. The addition of the pomegranate seeds made using toothpicks inconvenient.