If you take the time to look beyond the sea of baby greens and tomatoes flooding your grocer’s produce section, it’s easy to find some excellent and healthy — if uncommon — ways of livening up your salad repertoire.
Two widely available items are fresh tomatillos and jicama.
Tomatillos resemble small green tomatoes inside a papery husk reminiscent of a Chinese lantern. These tangy little fruits often are used in traditional Mexican sauces such as salsa verde.
Tomatillos can be used raw or cooked in many of the same ways you would use tomatoes. The berry inside the husk can range from marble- to plum-size and has solid, seedy flesh. Raw, they taste a bit like green apple with hints of lemon or lime, but cooking mellows the flavor.
Choose tomatillos that are bright to pale green, with few blemishes and clean husks that are free of mold. Ripe tomatillos should be firm but not rock hard.
When preparing tomatillos you will need to remove the husk and wash away the sticky resin on the skin. The entire fruit is edible, but if you like, when using them raw, you can peel off the tougher outer skin.
Jicama is a light brown-skinned tuber that is imported from Latin America.
They range in size from a half pound to several pounds and can be eaten raw or cooked. Raw, jicama has a mildly sweet, juicy flesh with a crisp texture.
Choose jicamas that are firm with unblemished skin. Store unwrapped in a dry part of the refrigerator for up to three weeks.
This piquant tomatillo and jicama salad is low in fat and calories, and a refreshing change from the monotony of mixed greens. The tangy tomatillos stand out against the sweet, crunchy jicama and ripe tomatoes.
