Around Christmas, I ate at Blanc Burgers + Bottles in Leawood. Instead of my usual fries, I opted for a salad with my burger. The arugula + citrus caught my eye, and after I ate it, I couldn’t get it out of my head.

A week later, I was still thinking about it and thought I could make a similar version at home. My grocery store didn’t have blood oranges, and I didn’t want to invest in another expensive olive oil, so I used plain navel oranges instead. And, they worked just fine.

My version is delicious and simple to put together.  The most intimidating element might be the jicama. If you’ve never seen, eaten or cooked with a jicama, you’re in for a treat. Although not the prettiest person at the party, it’s a tasty ingredient. Jicama has basically, no flavor. It’s crunchy and porous, which means it will take on the flavors of other ingredients easily, while remaining firm. It looks like this.

To use a jicama, peel it and then, slice it. Here’s how the julienned slices looked.

Jicama, Almond and Orange Salad

Serves 2

1/4 c. jicama, julienned

1 orange, supremed

Juice from one orange

1/4 c. sliced almonds

2 c. arugula

1 tbsp. citrus champagne vinegar

2 tbsp. evoo

Salt and pepper

Peel and julienne the jicama. Place in a bowl. Supreme an orange, adding the segments to the jicama. Squeeze the juice from the orange into the bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.

Next, toast the sliced almonds in a pan over low heat. Removing before they turn brown. Add the arugula and almonds to the same bowl. Drizzle with vinegar and evoo. Toss together. Season with salt and pepper.