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To prepare the jicama, trim the peel from the jicama with a sharp knife.
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Cut the jicama into 1/4-inch strips or wedges and put into a bowl.
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Toss in the lime zest, lime juice, cayenne, and salt and mix well.
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Serve.
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To toast the seeds, heat the oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat.
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When the oil is hot, add the pumpkin seeds.
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Toss well in the oil and sprinkle in the salt.
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Toast for 2 to 3 minutes, until the pumpkin seeds begin to pop and release their fragrance.
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Transfer to a small bowl and serve.
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To toast the peanuts, heat a nonstick pan over high heat.
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Add the peanuts and shake the pan often so that the nuts do not burn but rather toast slightly.
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After about 2 minutes you should begin to smell the aroma of toasted nuts.
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Remove the nuts from the pan and set aside.
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To make the spice mixture, decrease the heat to medium and return the pan to the stove.
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Sprinkle in the sugar, cayenne, and coarse salt (be careful because the heated cayenne can cause coughing).
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Allow the mixture to melt slowly, stirring lightly with a heatproof silicone spatula.
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As soon as all the sugar has melted, return the peanuts to the pan and coat well with the sugar mixture.
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The peanut mixture may clump a bit, but that is okay.
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Invert the spiced nuts onto a sheet of parchment paper.
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Allow the nuts to cool and the sugar to set for a few minutes.
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Serve with wedges of lime for guests to squeeze over their nuts right before eating.
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INGREDIENTS
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Cayenne Pepper
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While you can use almost any type of dried chile powder for these recipes, I like cayenne for both its heat and availability.
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Ancho chile powder would be a good mild substitute.
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Just be careful with blended dried chile mixes, such as generic chili powder, because they are blends of garlic, oregano, and other spices.
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TECHNIQUES
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Julienned Lime Zest
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The easiest way to julienne lime zest is with a citrus zester.
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If you do not have a zester, you can finely grate the zest with a box grater or a rasp.
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Melting Sugar
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Melting sugar is not difficult so long as you use the proper tools.
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For this you will need two itemsa nonstick pan and a heatproof silicone spatula.
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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.
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ADVANCE PREPARATION
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The pumpkin seeds and peanuts can be made well in advanceup to 24 hours before you are going to serve.
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Both should be kept in airtight containers at room temperature.
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The jicama should be made no more than 4 hours in advance.
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Keep it in the refrigerator and mix in the cayenne pepper 30 minutes before serving.
