Snacking is as much a Mexican pastime as it is an American one. These snacks, which are sold by street vendors, go great with beer and cocktails. Served as a trio or on their own, they are incredibly addicting!

　　

Ingredients

makes 1 cupful of each

　　

Chile & Lime Jicama Wedges

1 small jicama (about 4 inches in diameter)

　　1 lime, finely julienned zest and juice

　　1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

　　1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

　　

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

1 tablespoon olive oil

　　1 cup shelled pumpkin seeds

　　1/2 teaspoon salt

　　

Chile-Spiced Peanuts

1 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts

　　3 tablespoons sugar

　　1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

　　1 teaspoon coarse salt

　　1 lime, quartered

　　

Chile & Lime Jicama Wedges

Step 1

To prepare the jicama, trim the peel from the jicama with a sharp knife. Cut the jicama into 1/4-inch strips or wedges and put into a bowl. Toss in the lime zest, lime juice, cayenne, and salt and mix well. Serve.

　　

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Step 2

To toast the seeds, heat the oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the pumpkin seeds. Toss well in the oil and sprinkle in the salt. Toast for 2 to 3 minutes, until the pumpkin seeds begin to pop and release their fragrance. Transfer to a small bowl and serve.

　　

Chile-Spiced Peanuts

Step 3

To toast the peanuts, heat a nonstick pan over high heat. Add the peanuts and shake the pan often so that the nuts do not burn but rather toast slightly. After about 2 minutes you should begin to smell the aroma of toasted nuts. Remove the nuts from the pan and set aside.

　　

Step 4

To make the spice mixture, decrease the heat to medium and return the pan to the stove. Sprinkle in the sugar, cayenne, and coarse salt (be careful because the heated cayenne can cause coughing). Allow the mixture to melt slowly, stirring lightly with a heatproof silicone spatula. As soon as all the sugar has melted, return the peanuts to the pan and coat well with the sugar mixture. The peanut mixture may clump a bit, but that is okay.

　　

Step 5

Invert the spiced nuts onto a sheet of parchment paper. Allow the nuts to cool and the sugar to set for a few minutes.

　　

Step 6

Serve with wedges of lime for guests to squeeze over their nuts right before eating.

　　

Cooking Notes

Step 7

INGREDIENTS

　　

Step 8

Cayenne Pepper

　　

Step 9

While you can use almost any type of dried chile powder for these recipes, I like cayenne for both its heat and availability. Ancho chile powder would be a good mild substitute. Just be careful with blended dried chile mixes, such as generic chili powder, because they are blends of garlic, oregano, and other spices.

　　

Step 10

TECHNIQUES

　　

Step 11

Julienned Lime Zest

　　

Step 12

The easiest way to julienne lime zest is with a citrus zester. If you do not have a zester, you can finely grate the zest with a box grater or a rasp.

　　

Step 13

Melting Sugar

　　

Step 14

Melting sugar is not difficult so long as you use the proper tools. For this you will need two items—a nonstick pan and a heatproof silicone spatula. Equipment of any other material will cause the melted sugar mixture to stick to it, making it difficult to handle, and the equipment will seem impossible to clean.

　　

Step 15

ADVANCE PREPARATION

　　

Step 16

The pumpkin seeds and peanuts can be made well in advance—up to 24 hours before you are going to serve. Both should be kept in airtight containers at room temperature.

　　

Step 17

The jicama should be made no more than 4 hours in advance. Keep it in the refrigerator and mix in the cayenne pepper 30 minutes before serving.

　　Reprinted with permission from Simply Mexican by Lourdes Castro, © April 2009 Ten Speed Press. Buy the full book at Amazon or Bookshop.