When I walked out the doorlast weekat 6:30 amit was72 degrees F with 100% humidity and the high today is 90 degrees F. Other places in the US, spring is in full bloom, but summer is not here yet. For us in Texas summer has started.That meansheavy, hot meals are going to be off my table for a little while in place of some lighter fair, such as this unique, crunchy salad. Remember strawberries? This recipe features a strawberry-lemon sauce, and while sounding unusual, combined with the mint and onions it makes for a delightful dish. It also features jicama or yambean.
I wouldn’t say that jicama is a common American vegetable by any means, but it should be. My mom introduced me to it years ago and it remains one of my favorite snacks to this day. I like it peeled and plain. A good jicama is crispy like a potato (but not starchy) and sweet like a carrot (but definitely not carrot flavored). The flavor is all its own, but awfully good in my opinion. For patients with kidney failure, jicama is an especially nice vegetable to include. A whole cup is only 56 mg of potassium and7 mg of phosphorus.That means that it is something you could enjoy in a pretty good size quantity without any issues.
We took this recipe from SouthernLiving.com who was featuring it from myrecipes.com(pats on our back for finding a renal-friendly recipe on a non-renal website!). Click here for the original recipe. We left out the salt. Forthe strawberry lemonade jam, it says to strain the strawberries after you puree them…but that was an extra dish to wash and seemed unnecessary to me so I didn’t pull out my strainer. Other than that we kept everything the same.
Jicama-and-Bell Pepper Slaw
Print Recipe Here!:Printable recipe
Salad
1 1/2 c thinly sliced jicama
1/3 c thinly sliced red onion
1/4 c fresh mint leaves
1 thinly sliced red bell pepper
1 thinly sliced yellow bell pepper
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Dressing
3 Tbsp olive oil
4 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 c Strawberry-Lemonade Jam (recipe below!)
Preparation
Toss together jicama, onion, mint leaves, red bell pepper, and yellow bell pepper. Sprinkle with salt, ground red pepper, and ground black pepper. Whisk together Strawberry-Lemonade Jam, olive oil, and lemon juice. Drizzle over salad; toss to coat.
Strawberry-Lemonade jam
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh strawberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Preparation
1. Process strawberries in a blender until smooth. Stir in sugar.
2. Whisk together lemon juice and cornstarch; gradually whisk into strawberry mixture. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, and cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Remove from heat. Place plastic wrap directly on warm jam; chill 2 hours or until cold. Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 1 week.
Nutrition Facts:
| Amount | |
| Serving | Approx ½ – ¾ cup |
| Calories | 109 |
| Carbohydrate | 11 g |
| Fat | 7 g |
| Protein | 1 g |
| Potassium | 187 mg |
| Sodium | 5 mg |
| Phosphorus | 24 mg |
KidneyGrub Verdict:
Fresh, crunchy, easy, renal friendly. I would make this again and it presents beautifully for a picnic. Being such a unique recipe it is definitely one way to mix things up and not be bored with your food!
