Curried Jicama Fruit Pasta Salad

This Curried Jicama Fruit Pasta Salad is a delightful salad served Vegetarian or with chicken, for a brunch, holiday party, potluck, or luncheon!

There really is nothing like sisters. The sounds of their laughter, voices, their wisdom, timing, rhythm, and touch … the just knowing each other that goes so deep, it’s hard to even explain.

This past weekend my sisters came for lunch, and I served this Curried Jicama Fruit Pasta Salad.

I love it when my sisters come, because I don’t have to worry about stuff … you know, like the house is picked up, all the details of entertaining are in place, the bathroom is clean, the floor is swept. Or, that I wanted to use a different pasta in the recipe, but I ended using what was in my pantry. (I really wanted to use bowtie pasta:) Things can just be normal and ordinary when sisters come over. :)

We’re all in our 50’s now and we talk about how short our mother’s life was, although we don’t focus on the “what might have beens.” If we were our mother, we’d only have a few more years with each other.

But … we do not dwell on it. Life is full, there’s a lot of living to do, and it’s beautiful and exciting.

We love food!

I love it when we come together to eat. I was thinking, as I made this salad recipe in the morning, how much our mom taught us girls about cooking and food. We love food! We really enjoying eating together. It not only nourishes our bodies, but I believe it strengthens our friendship.

Curried Jicama Fruit Pasta Salad

I knew I wanted to make a curry chicken salad, but also wanted to add sweetness. Pineapple and grapes were a given, but I also love the sweetness of jicama (pronounced HEE-kah-ma), which is an edible root that looks like a turnip. It has thin brown skin with a crisp, juicy, white flesh flavor of a pear, or a chestnut (a sweet water chestnut).

Using my new OXO Mandolin, which I also gave as a gift for my sister’s birthday, it took me less than a minute to have these beautiful julienne strips jicama.

The dressing is so easy (don’t forget to reserve some of the pineapple juice!)

Losing track of time.

We sat together on the back patio, and I looked at the clock. Three hours had flown by.

How in the world? I had so much to do … my list was so long … but I’m glad I lost track of time.

Everyday life is a gift.

And on this day, I took the 3 hours spent relaxing and eating with my sisters as a very HUGE gift, with a giant, beautiful bow on top.

What would the day look like if you could have lunch with a couple of your best friends or sisters?

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Curried Jicama Fruit Pasta Salad

Chicken is optional if you want to make the salad Vegetarian!

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 25 minutes mins

Yield: 6

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Ingredients

 

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• 16 oz DeLallo Whole Wheat Penne Rigate’, cooked, drained, and cooled
• 2 cups chicken, cooked and chopped (I used rotisserie – optional)
• ½ cup celery, chopped
• ½ cup red onion, chopped
• 1 cup jimica, juilenned
• 2 cups small red grapes
• 1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained (reserve ¼ cup juice for dressing)
• ½ cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 3-4 Tbsp. curry, to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Cook pasta according to package directions; cool and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine cooked, cooled pasta, chicken, celery, onion, jimica, grapes, pineapple, and cilantro.
• Mix the mayonnaise, curry, salt and pepper, and pineapple juice in a small bowl. Add to the pasta mixture.
• Gently toss and chill. Serve cold!

Cuisine: American

Course: Salad

Author: Sandy / Reluctant Entertainer

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