mango jicama salad

I find myself cooking a lot more mexican-inspired dishes in the summertime. Maybe because there are so many options that involve fresh seasonal vegetables, fish, less elaborate cooking (and shorter cooking times), and especially because spicy is the best complement to the southern heat and humidity. And what goes best with spicy mexican food? This crunchy, tangy mango jicama salad. Jicama doesn't have a lot of flavor, but it has the greatest texture (crunchy and light, kind of like a water chestnut, if I had to pick something), and absorbs the flavors of whatever you mix with it. I found this recipe from epicurious (which I made a half-batch of and found plenty for 4+ servings - half batch ingredients listed below), and will definitely make it a lot more this summer...

Grocery list: 3 ears corn, 2-3 mangoes (peeled, pitted, chopped), 1 jicama (about a pound, peeled and chopped), 1/2 chopped red onion, handful chopped fresh cilantro, juice of 1 lime, drizzle of olive oil.



The only thing that requires a little work for this salad is the corn - you have to boil it for 3-5 minutes, then chill in ice water. Slice the kernels off the corn cobs, and chop all the other ingredients.



Toss everything together with the juice of one lime and a drizzle of olive oil, plus salt and pepper to taste, and that's it.

mexican pasta

I've been holding on to this recipe from an issue of Food & Wine for a while, and I wish I had tried it sooner. It was unique and also very easy to make. All you need: 3/4 pound pasta (penne), 1 pound chicken, garlic, 1 onion, 1 can of chipolte peppers, 1 big can of chopped tomatoes, mozzarella, frozen corn, and a handful of chopped cilantro.

While the pasta is cooking, chop the chicken and begin to cook it in olive oil over medium-high heat in a big heavy pan (ideally one that could fit the entire dish in it -- I used my big Le Crueset dutch oven, AKA the love of my life). Chop the onion, and add it to the chicken after 4-5 minutes. After the onion has cooked for 1-2 minutes, add a chopped garlic clove or 2, and cook for 3-4 more minutes. At this point the chicken should be cooked through, the onions golden. Then you add the diced tomatoes, and one chipolte pepper. To prepare the pepper, slice down one side and remove all the seeds, then mince it up. Reserve 1-2 T of the adobo sauce that the pepper was packed in, and add that to the pot too. After 2 minutes, add 1/2 cup frozen corn, and cook another 2 minutes.

At this point you add about a cup of grated mozzarella and stir until it's all melted, and it's done! To serve, sprinkle a little extra cheese and the chopped cilantro on top. This whole dish took about 30 minutes to make, and doesn't require a lot of "special" ingredients, so it's definitely going in the regular rotation.