MIRLITON (CHAYOTE) CASSEROLE
In the south, or at least in Louisiana, we call Chayotes or Vegetable Pears, Mirlitons (MEL-a-tawn or MERL-a-tawn), depending on what New Orleans neighborhood you're from. It's a part of the squash family but it has a mild sweet flavor and can be used so many different ways. Here's my version of Traditional Mirliton Casserole.
Provided by Donna Graffagnino
Categories Seafood
Time 4h
Number Of Ingredients 20
Steps:
- 1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the mirlitons and cook until tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the heat, drain, and set aside to cool completely.
- 2. Sprinkle ground beef, pork or sausage with 1 tablespoon creole seasoning and brown in heavy skillet. Drain and set aside.
- 3. When the mirlitons are cool, cut them in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, peel, and coarsely chop. Set aside.
- 4. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, carrots, celery, green onions and jalapeno. Add remaining creole seasoning and the thyme. Cook slowly, stirring, until the vegetables are soft and lightly golden, about 30 minutes.
- 5. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add the mirlitons and cook, mashing them with a potato masher, until very tender and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 30 minutes.
- 6. At this point, if you want a smoother textured casserole use an immersion blender or put mixture into a food processor or blender in small batches until everything is pureed. If you like a chunkier casserole then skip this step.
- 7. Add the meats or seafood, salt, black pepper, and parsley. Cook about 3 to 4 minutes stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Remove from the heat.
- 8. Add the eggs and toasted bread crumbs and mix well. You want the mixture to be tight, not too wet. Spoon the mixture into a 9 by 13-inch casserole dish. Sprinkle with mozzarella or parmesan cheese (optional), or with about 1-2 tablespoons of bread crumbs.
- 9. Bake at 350 until the topping is lightly browned and bubbly, about 40 minutes. Serve warm.
- 10. *NOTES: In a skillet, toast the breadcrumbs in a little olive oil over medium heat until it turns 2 shades darker. This will keep the casserole from being gummy.
- 11. If you make extra toasted breadcrumbs you can freeze them in a ziplock bag until you're ready to use them again.
CHAYOTES RELLENOS AL CARI (STUFFED CHAYOTES WITH CURRIED BEEF)
Steps:
- Split chayotes lengthwise in half. Put in kettle of cold water with salt to taste. Bring to boil and let simmer about 10 minutes. Do not overcook or vegetables will become mushy. Drain and run briefly under cold water. Drain again.
- Using spoon or melon-ball cutter, scoop out flesh and edible seeds of each half, leaving shell about eighth of an inch thick or slightly thicker. Set shells side. Finely chop flesh and seeds. There should be about one cup.
- When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Heat tablespoon of butter in saucepan and add onion and garlic. Cook briefly, stirring, and add curry powder. Add meat and cook, stirring and chopping down with side of heavy metal spoon to break up lumps in meat.
- When meat has lost raw look, add chopped pulp of chayotes. Stir. Scrape mixture into mixing bowl.
- Add egg, quarter cup of bread crumbs, pine nuts, pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Blend well.
- Use mixture to stuff chayote halves. Pile up and smooth over.
- Blend remaining bread crumbs with cheese. Sprinkle tops with mixture, patting to help it adhere. Dot with remaining two tablespoons of butter.
- Arrange stuffed halves in a lightly buttered baking dish and place in oven. Bake 20 minutes.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 280, UnsaturatedFat 8 grams, Carbohydrate 15 grams, Fat 16 grams, Fiber 3 grams, Protein 22 grams, SaturatedFat 7 grams, Sodium 478 milligrams, Sugar 3 grams, TransFat 0 grams
STUFFED CHAYOTES (CHAYOTES RELLENOS)
Chayote is a vegetable that resembles a cactus on the outside. It has fine small torns and white on the outside. Grows extensively in the Caribbean and also in areas as Florida and Louisiana. The flesh is delicate and similar to summer squash.
Provided by l0ve2c00k
Categories Vegetable
Time 1h15m
Yield 12 halves
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- In a large pot, boil halved chayotes until tender.
- In a large pan, add OO or non stick spray. Add tomato sauce and sofrito. Let simmer in medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- Add meat and season with adobo.
- When chayotes are done, remove the flesh in the middle area.
- Add this flesh to the meat.
- Stuff chayotes with meat.
- Cover with slice of cheese.
- Place in oven for 35 minutes @ 350°F
- Remove from oven and serve.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 182.1, Fat 12.2, SaturatedFat 5.7, Cholesterol 39.3, Sodium 285.9, Carbohydrate 6.5, Fiber 1.9, Sugar 2.3, Protein 12.2
CHAYOTE WITH CHEESE (STUFFED & BAKED)
A Chayote dish to add variety to your meal. Note:When I made this I also added some garlic powder along with the salt & pepper. I used mexican blend cheese for the cheese, It was delicious. When boiling the chayote be sure to cook it until really tender so that is is easy to scoop out of the shell. Note: I have found that most of the time the Chayote takes longer to cook than 15 minutes because of size or age.
Provided by Barb G.
Categories Cheese
Time 50m
Yield 8 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Cut the chayotes in half, place in boiling salted water and cook until tender, approximately 15 minutes.
- Scoop out the pulp and reserve the shells.
- Chop the pulp and drain.
- Mince the onion and slowly fry in butter or olive oil until transparent.
- Add the pulp of the chayote and season to taste with salt & pepper.
- Add the 2 beaten eggs over the mixture and cook over low heat for a few minutes, mixing well until done.
- Stuff the chayote shells and top with grated cheese.
- Place in hot oven, 400 degrees until cheese is melted & golden.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 73.6, Fat 4.2, SaturatedFat 2.2, Cholesterol 54.1, Sodium 46.2, Carbohydrate 7.2, Fiber 2.2, Sugar 2.9, Protein 2.7
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