Jicama Hash Browns ala Cleo

CarolynF · 01-30-2009, 03:54 PM

I wanted to play around making some hash browns using Cleo's recipe..but I just tweaked it a bit.

One jicama, peeled and shredded
1/4 of a green pepper diced
1/4 of an onion, diced
Salt/pepper to taste
Oil

Using a 2 quart saucepan, fill it about 1/2 way with water and sprinkle salt.
Get the water boiling and put in the shredded jicama. Let it boil for 15 minutes or so until the jicama is soft. Then drain the jicama in a colander that has small holes in it..Press down with a large spoon so the water releases.

In a frying pan, place about 2 Tbs. of oil. Mix the jicama in a bowl with the green pepper and onion and spices. In the heated oil place mounds of the
jicama mixture and flatten out with a spoon. Cook until they are slightly browned on one side, then flip if you can. The patties won't stay together, but you can scramble them until they are hot and the other veggies are soft.
Serve as you would hashbrowns.

One baseball sized jicama might make 3 servings. And one cup of jicama has 5 net carbs.

Note: The jicama I bought wasn't hard as rock and easy to cut and shred, so it might have taken less time. I was totally surprised how the shredded jicama softened up nicely in the boiling water. It tasted very much like real
taters...

Soobee · 01-31-2009, 04:09 AM

Carolyn, I am surprised too. I love jicama. I have tried it in many recipes and never gotten it to soften much. Even freezing it and thawing it doesn't work. Maybe it's because you shredded it before boiling?

CarolynF · 01-31-2009, 08:03 AM

Yes, Soobee, I was surprised, too. However, this jicama wasn't hard as a rock..it was more like an apple consistency.

I do think that shredding it and boiling it gives quick exposure to high heat and it probably is the quickest way to soften it.

Plus when you add onion/green pepper, it takes on that hashbrown taste.

cleochatra · 01-31-2009, 08:24 AM

I love adding the green onions! What a great way to add some flava! It is making my stomach growl.

zizi · 01-31-2009, 04:09 PM

Excuse my ignorance, but what is jicama???

cleochatra · 01-31-2009, 05:07 PM

Like a chameleon, jicama (pronounced hee-kah-mah) takes it rightful place in many dishes, lending its crunch and apple-like texture and mild flavor, making it a favorite among people who are missing out on hashed browns (as an example. Recipe follows below). From slaws to slabs, this underground beauty struts its stuff in its rightful place in many a low-carbohydrate, (or otherwise health conscious) kitchen.

This terrific tuber is loaded with Vitamin C (in fact, only one cup provides over 40% of the recommended daily allowance) and can be found in the fresh vegetable aisle of your local supermarket (look for skin still intact and with no bruising). Jicama can be stored for up to 2 weeks in a plastic sack in the refrigerator.

Known for its very fibrous and crunchy texture (not unlike an extra-crisp Granny Smith Apple), this root is jokingly infamous for its inability to break down into something softer without extreme effort. A friend of mine jokes that after a nuclear holocaust, we can be sure of one thing only: the jicama will still be crunchy.

Luckily, there are several ways to make the jicama more amicable to individual cooking needs. Differing cooks will generally present various ways of preparing the jicama to yield the results of the recipe. Slicing and freezing is one way many claim softening occurs. Others boil theirs prior to use. (I slice mine and leave them in a pot overnight covered with hot water for most applications).

While one large jicama is extremely high in carbohydrates (100 to be more precise), half of those carbs are fiber, bringing this tremendous tuber to roughly only 50 net carbs. Use one cup at a time and you've ingested only 11.5 carbohydrates and 6 grams of fiber, bringing that total to only 5.5 net carbs.

Not bad for a root many have passed over at the grocery store time and again.

Nutritional Information (1 cup jicama)
Calories: 49.5
Carbohydrates: 11.5 g
Fiber: 6 g
Net Carbohydrates: 5.5 g
Protein: 1 g
Fat: 0 g

zizi · 01-31-2009, 05:12 PM

THANKS!!! MERCI!!! GRACIAS!!!!

jlatislaw · 01-31-2009, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zizi

Excuse my ignorance, but what is jicama???

Another great use for them is as a replacement for apples in Waldorf salad. Dice the jicama, add chopped celery, a few grapes, chopped, walnuts and mayo w/Splenda to taste. Hard to tell it's not apples

CarolynF · 02-01-2009, 07:40 AM

Judy: That does sound great..and the jicama does have a slight sweet taste when used raw, which makes it a good replacement for apples in raw dishes.

cleochatra · 02-01-2009, 08:42 AM

Jicama is the bomb-a!

scorpgc · 02-02-2009, 02:19 PM

Yum, Carolyn that sounds good. Up until now have been using small red radishes, sauteed in bacon fat, but this sounds really tasty.

If I wanted them to hold together for form's sake...could I use some beaten egg white, or would this not work with a fleshy vegetable?

Will put this on my grocery list, thanks!!

CarolynF · 03-10-2009, 09:46 PM

I made this again..Honestly, to eliminate any of the jicama sweetness, you need to shred the jicama, then boil the shreds until they are as tender as you like them. In fact, tonight
I put 1/4 cup of half/half in my water. You couldn't even tell it was jicama..

jenniesgroups · 06-20-2009, 12:31 PM

We've made this without boiling the jicama. We just shredded it and threw it in the skillet with onions, peppers and salt. We cooked until we thought it was done. Had a little crunch, and a little sweet, but we really really liked it that way. Added a over easy egg or two on top when served and really really good. I want some now. lol. I kind of like the sweet and saltiness of it this way.

CarolynF · 10-06-2009, 05:20 PM

bumping

flatferenghi · 11-05-2009, 11:46 AM

i think that i might be able to make Mock potato pancakes, by grating the jicama, with some grated onion, and adding an egg to glue it together. then i will pan fry them in potato pancake portion sizes. don't know what it will taste like, but it should be fun. I am, after all, a GRATE little troll. Love & Profits: FLATFERENGHI

Soobee · 11-06-2009, 05:29 AM

Carolyn, I tried cutting up a jicama, freezing the pieces, thawing them in the microwave, and then frying them in in bacon fat with onions and pepper. The texture was the best I have gotten. The pieces even browned on the edges a little like real potato hash.

CarolynF · 11-06-2009, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soobee

Carolyn, I tried cutting up a jicama, freezing the pieces, thawing them in the microwave, and then frying them in in bacon fat with onions and pepper. The texture was the best I have gotten. The pieces even browned on the edges a little like real potato hash.

Hmmm...maybe the water in the jicama came out in the microwave making them drier and able to brown up..So...what shape did you cut your jicama into?

Chickamomminy · 11-06-2009, 03:44 PM

I was just watching an Alton Brown episode on potatoes last night, and he said something about refrigerating the potatoes overnight before cooking to increase browning. The cold triggers the potato to release more starch- which will carmelize faster. Wonder if it's not similar with jicama; and if the freezing is not what caused the better browning?

If that is the case, does anyone know if it would be worse for low-carbers to do so? In theory, would it not make for easier break down of the starch into glucose in the blood stream? Just curious....

CarolynF · 11-06-2009, 08:22 PM

Jicama has very little starch, luckily. That's interesting about taters cuz my mother in law would never refrigerate her taters because she said they tasted sweet..(not good).

Soobee · 11-07-2009, 11:48 AM

I made little cubes of jicama. My friend had told me that she regularly buys jicama, cuts it into pieces, and then freezes it. When she needs some cubes, which she usually uses for her Waldorf salad, she just takes what she needs out of the freezer. Freezing does not seem to effect the texture at all. I was makimg the hash when I thought of using the frozen jicama. That's why I had to nuke it first. I didn't think it would affect the texture at all, but the sequence of freezing, nuking, and then frying, really seemed to help.

CarolynF · 11-08-2009, 06:41 AM

Thanks...I will get some this week.. I do like your idea of freezing it and nuking it..Some of the water might come out in the nuking phase.

jill72 · 11-08-2009, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soobee

That's why I had to nuke it first. I didn't think it would affect the texture at all, but the sequence of freezing, nuking, and then frying, really seemed to help.

Soobee, did you just put the frozen jicama in the microwave on 'defrost' or was it a higher setting? I cubed one today and put it in the freezer and it had quite a bit of moisture (more than an apple would). Are we trying to both soften and dry it out with the microwave step?

This is my very first experience with jicama. I'm surprised at how much it tastes like an apple.

Soobee · 11-09-2009, 08:46 AM

I did't use defrost. Just nuked it on high until it thawed.

jill72 · 11-09-2009, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soobee

I did't use defrost. Just nuked it on high until it thawed.

Thanks so much. Can't wait to try it.

jill72 · 11-10-2009, 08:45 AM

I made this last night. My husband walked in just as I was finishing cooking it and said, "Mmmmm hash browns". I laughed. Didn't tell him until after dinner that it was 'jicama browns' LOL.

I cubed one jicama and froze it overnight. Then I nuked it for about 3 minutes on high to defrost it. There was a lot of liquid, which I drained. I cooked it in hot bacon grease with half a sweet onion until brown. The last 5 minutes, I added a small can of Ortega diced green chiles, about a teaspoon of Kosher salt and a little ground pepper. So good!

01-30-2009, 03:54 PM	#1
CarolynF Way too much time on my hands! Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Kansas Posts: 24,822 Gallery: CarolynF Stats: 195/151/139 WOE: Eat Fat, Get Thin/I Can Make You Thin Start Date: January 2001	Jicama Hash Browns ala Cleo I wanted to play around making some hash browns using Cleo's recipe..but I just tweaked it a bit. One jicama, peeled and shredded 1/4 of a green pepper diced 1/4 of an onion, diced Salt/pepper to taste Oil Using a 2 quart saucepan, fill it about 1/2 way with water and sprinkle salt. Get the water boiling and put in the shredded jicama. Let it boil for 15 minutes or so until the jicama is soft. Then drain the jicama in a colander that has small holes in it..Press down with a large spoon so the water releases. In a frying pan, place about 2 Tbs. of oil. Mix the jicama in a bowl with the green pepper and onion and spices. In the heated oil place mounds of the jicama mixture and flatten out with a spoon. Cook until they are slightly browned on one side, then flip if you can. The patties won't stay together, but you can scramble them until they are hot and the other veggies are soft. Serve as you would hashbrowns. One baseball sized jicama might make 3 servings. And one cup of jicama has 5 net carbs. Note: The jicama I bought wasn't hard as rock and easy to cut and shred, so it might have taken less time. I was totally surprised how the shredded jicama softened up nicely in the boiling water. It tasted very much like real taters... __________________ Fabulous in February Challenge Weight: 153 Last edited by CarolynF; 01-30-2009 at 04:10 PM..

01-31-2009, 05:07 PM	#6
cleochatra Big Yapper!!!! Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 9,936 Gallery: cleochatra WOE: Taking a break	Like a chameleon, jicama (pronounced hee-kah-mah) takes it rightful place in many dishes, lending its crunch and apple-like texture and mild flavor, making it a favorite among people who are missing out on hashed browns (as an example. Recipe follows below). From slaws to slabs, this underground beauty struts its stuff in its rightful place in many a low-carbohydrate, (or otherwise health conscious) kitchen. This terrific tuber is loaded with Vitamin C (in fact, only one cup provides over 40% of the recommended daily allowance) and can be found in the fresh vegetable aisle of your local supermarket (look for skin still intact and with no bruising). Jicama can be stored for up to 2 weeks in a plastic sack in the refrigerator. Known for its very fibrous and crunchy texture (not unlike an extra-crisp Granny Smith Apple), this root is jokingly infamous for its inability to break down into something softer without extreme effort. A friend of mine jokes that after a nuclear holocaust, we can be sure of one thing only: the jicama will still be crunchy. Luckily, there are several ways to make the jicama more amicable to individual cooking needs. Differing cooks will generally present various ways of preparing the jicama to yield the results of the recipe. Slicing and freezing is one way many claim softening occurs. Others boil theirs prior to use. (I slice mine and leave them in a pot overnight covered with hot water for most applications). While one large jicama is extremely high in carbohydrates (100 to be more precise), half of those carbs are fiber, bringing this tremendous tuber to roughly only 50 net carbs. Use one cup at a time and you've ingested only 11.5 carbohydrates and 6 grams of fiber, bringing that total to only 5.5 net carbs. Not bad for a root many have passed over at the grocery store time and again. Nutritional Information (1 cup jicama) Calories: 49.5 Carbohydrates: 11.5 g Fiber: 6 g Net Carbohydrates: 5.5 g Protein: 1 g Fat: 0 g __________________ The Lighter Side of Low-Carb blog Over 150 recipes, new content & mimes!

06-20-2009, 12:31 PM	#13
jenniesgroups Junior LCF Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1 Gallery: jenniesgroups	Don't have to boil We've made this without boiling the jicama. We just shredded it and threw it in the skillet with onions, peppers and salt. We cooked until we thought it was done. Had a little crunch, and a little sweet, but we really really liked it that way. Added a over easy egg or two on top when served and really really good. I want some now. lol. I kind of like the sweet and saltiness of it this way.

11-05-2009, 11:46 AM	#15
flatferenghi Very Gabby LCF Member!!! Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 4,797 Gallery: flatferenghi	i am slow to try new things... but i think that i might be able to make Mock potato pancakes, by grating the jicama, with some grated onion, and adding an egg to glue it together. then i will pan fry them in potato pancake portion sizes. don't know what it will taste like, but it should be fun. I am, after all, a GRATE little troll. Love & Profits: FLATFERENGHI

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

01-31-2009, 04:09 AM	#2
Soobee MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 1,743 Gallery: Soobee WOE: Atkins Start Date: September 2000	Carolyn, I am surprised too. I love jicama. I have tried it in many recipes and never gotten it to soften much. Even freezing it and thawing it doesn't work. Maybe it's because you shredded it before boiling?

01-31-2009, 08:03 AM	#3
CarolynF Way too much time on my hands! Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Kansas Posts: 24,822 Gallery: CarolynF Stats: 195/151/139 WOE: Eat Fat, Get Thin/I Can Make You Thin Start Date: January 2001	Yes, Soobee, I was surprised, too. However, this jicama wasn't hard as a rock..it was more like an apple consistency. I do think that shredding it and boiling it gives quick exposure to high heat and it probably is the quickest way to soften it. Plus when you add onion/green pepper, it takes on that hashbrown taste.

01-31-2009, 08:24 AM	#4
cleochatra Big Yapper!!!! Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 9,936 Gallery: cleochatra WOE: Taking a break	I love adding the green onions! What a great way to add some flava! It is making my stomach growl.

01-31-2009, 04:09 PM	#5
zizi MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Earth Posts: 2,458 Gallery: zizi WOE: Low Carb Eclectic Start Date: one day at a time...	Excuse my ignorance, but what is jicama???

01-31-2009, 05:12 PM	#7
zizi MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Earth Posts: 2,458 Gallery: zizi WOE: Low Carb Eclectic Start Date: one day at a time...	THANKS!!! MERCI!!! GRACIAS!!!!

02-01-2009, 07:40 AM	#9
CarolynF Way too much time on my hands! Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Kansas Posts: 24,822 Gallery: CarolynF Stats: 195/151/139 WOE: Eat Fat, Get Thin/I Can Make You Thin Start Date: January 2001	Judy: That does sound great..and the jicama does have a slight sweet taste when used raw, which makes it a good replacement for apples in raw dishes.

02-01-2009, 08:42 AM	#10
cleochatra Big Yapper!!!! Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 9,936 Gallery: cleochatra WOE: Taking a break	Jicama is the bomb-a!

02-02-2009, 02:19 PM	#11
scorpgc Senior LCF Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Orinda (San Francisco Bay Area) Posts: 840 Gallery: scorpgc Stats: 265/243/235 @ 6'7" WOE: Low Carb/Limited Sugar/South Beach & Moderation Start Date: Re-Start May 5, 2008	Yum, Carolyn that sounds good. Up until now have been using small red radishes, sauteed in bacon fat, but this sounds really tasty. If I wanted them to hold together for form's sake...could I use some beaten egg white, or would this not work with a fleshy vegetable? Will put this on my grocery list, thanks!!

03-10-2009, 09:46 PM	#12
CarolynF Way too much time on my hands! Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Kansas Posts: 24,822 Gallery: CarolynF Stats: 195/151/139 WOE: Eat Fat, Get Thin/I Can Make You Thin Start Date: January 2001	I made this again..Honestly, to eliminate any of the jicama sweetness, you need to shred the jicama, then boil the shreds until they are as tender as you like them. In fact, tonight I put 1/4 cup of half/half in my water. You couldn't even tell it was jicama..

10-06-2009, 05:20 PM	#14
CarolynF Way too much time on my hands! Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Kansas Posts: 24,822 Gallery: CarolynF Stats: 195/151/139 WOE: Eat Fat, Get Thin/I Can Make You Thin Start Date: January 2001	bumping

11-06-2009, 05:29 AM	#16
Soobee MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 1,743 Gallery: Soobee WOE: Atkins Start Date: September 2000	Carolyn, I tried cutting up a jicama, freezing the pieces, thawing them in the microwave, and then frying them in in bacon fat with onions and pepper. The texture was the best I have gotten. The pieces even browned on the edges a little like real potato hash.

11-06-2009, 03:44 PM	#18
Chickamomminy Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: New Jersey Posts: 64 Gallery: Chickamomminy Stats: 248/198 (halfway to goal!! 2/8/2010!!!!)/149 WOE: Atkins Start Date: April 2009	I was just watching an Alton Brown episode on potatoes last night, and he said something about refrigerating the potatoes overnight before cooking to increase browning. The cold triggers the potato to release more starch- which will carmelize faster. Wonder if it's not similar with jicama; and if the freezing is not what caused the better browning? If that is the case, does anyone know if it would be worse for low-carbers to do so? In theory, would it not make for easier break down of the starch into glucose in the blood stream? Just curious....

11-06-2009, 08:22 PM	#19
CarolynF Way too much time on my hands! Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Kansas Posts: 24,822 Gallery: CarolynF Stats: 195/151/139 WOE: Eat Fat, Get Thin/I Can Make You Thin Start Date: January 2001	Jicama has very little starch, luckily. That's interesting about taters cuz my mother in law would never refrigerate her taters because she said they tasted sweet..(not good).

11-07-2009, 11:48 AM	#20
Soobee MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 1,743 Gallery: Soobee WOE: Atkins Start Date: September 2000	I made little cubes of jicama. My friend had told me that she regularly buys jicama, cuts it into pieces, and then freezes it. When she needs some cubes, which she usually uses for her Waldorf salad, she just takes what she needs out of the freezer. Freezing does not seem to effect the texture at all. I was makimg the hash when I thought of using the frozen jicama. That's why I had to nuke it first. I didn't think it would affect the texture at all, but the sequence of freezing, nuking, and then frying, really seemed to help.

11-08-2009, 06:41 AM	#21
CarolynF Way too much time on my hands! Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Kansas Posts: 24,822 Gallery: CarolynF Stats: 195/151/139 WOE: Eat Fat, Get Thin/I Can Make You Thin Start Date: January 2001	Thanks...I will get some this week.. I do like your idea of freezing it and nuking it..Some of the water might come out in the nuking phase.

11-09-2009, 08:46 AM	#23
Soobee MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 1,743 Gallery: Soobee WOE: Atkins Start Date: September 2000	I did't use defrost. Just nuked it on high until it thawed.

11-10-2009, 08:45 AM	#25
jill72 Senior LCF Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 425 Gallery: jill72 Stats: 162/125/120's WOE: Atkins Start Date: 10/31/08	I made this last night. My husband walked in just as I was finishing cooking it and said, "Mmmmm hash browns". I laughed. Didn't tell him until after dinner that it was 'jicama browns' LOL. I cubed one jicama and froze it overnight. Then I nuked it for about 3 minutes on high to defrost it. There was a lot of liquid, which I drained. I cooked it in hot bacon grease with half a sweet onion until brown. The last 5 minutes, I added a small can of Ortega diced green chiles, about a teaspoon of Kosher salt and a little ground pepper. So good!