Mâche And Jicama Salad With Edible Flowers

I spent about a half an hour roaming around the produce section of Whole Foods the other day, trying to find the makings for an interesting salad.  The first thing I saw was the edible flowers.  I absolutely love how they look.  Many edible flowers are quite peppery and pleasantly floral.  However, the box I bought had some varieties I had never tried, and I knew some had the possibility of being bitter.  If that were so, I didn’t want to add fruit to the salad, as I was afraid it might contrast too strongly against the bitter flowers and create some discordance.  Instead I went with a more analogous flavor scheme.  I chose vegetables ranging from peppery radishes, to nutty mâche, and finally to neutrally sweet jicama.  I introduced some fruity tang later with the vinaigrette.

Mâche And Jicama Salad With Edible Flowers

• mâche or Lamb’s lettuce
• 2-3 radishes, thinly sliced
• 1 jicama root, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
• 1/2 English cucumber, peeled with a lemon zester, cut in half with seeds removed and sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
• vinaigrette (recipe follows)
• an assortment of edible flowers (available in gourmet stores next to the fresh herbs)

1. Toss mâche with vinaigrette and set aside.

2.  Arrange radish slices in a circular pattern on a plate.  Top with jicama, cucumber slices, and mâche.  Garnish plate with more vinaigrette and flowers.

Vinaigrettes

• 2 tablespoons red juice (such as Odwalla or Naked juice)
• 2 tablespoons yellow juice (such as Odwalla or Naked juice)
• 2 teaspoons of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 2 pinches of salt