Vegetarian Recipe: Crunchy Melon-Jicama Table Salsa

Every week on the Good Food Blog we celebrate Meatless Monday by sharing a vegetarian recipe from our archives.

Nancy Zaslavsky leads cooking tours to Mexico and has written a number of Mexican cookbooks including A Cook’s Tour of Mexico: Authentic Recipes from the Country’s Best Open-Air Markets, City Fondas, and Home Kitchens, published by St. Martin’s Press. She first shared this recipe for Crunchy Melon-Jicama Table Salsa on September 13, 2003.

Crunchy Melon-Jicama Table Salsa

Makes 3 cups

• 1 cup minced ripe melon

• 1 cup minced jicama

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from Mexican limes, key limes, if possible)

• 1 to 3 fresh serrano or jalapeno chiles

• 1/2 cup minced white onion

• 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro

• 1/4 cup minced fresh mint leaves

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

Mix fruit and lime juice in a medium bowl. Stir one of the unseeded, stemmed, minced chiles into the fruit with the onion, cilantro, mint, sugar and salt. Taste the combined ingredients. If more spiciness is desired, add additional minced chiles.

Note: The table salsa may be made 6 hours ahead, covered and chilled. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes ahead because it is best served at room temperature.