GREEN CHILE PESTO WITH ROASTED CHAYOTE SQUASH

Green Chile Pesto with Roasted Chayote Squash image

Inspired by Rick Bayless's green chile adobo, this beautiful pesto goes great in a roasted chayote side dish, or warm salad. If you can't find chayote, use grilled zucchini or other summer squash, or even something like acorn or delicata squash. You can add 2 limes' worth of juice right to the pesto if you're going to use it all at once as a sauce for something. Otherwise, this keeps longer in the fridge if you omit it and add the juice of 1 lime to the chayote instead.

Provided by Chef John

Categories Side Dish Sauces and Condiments Recipes Sauce Recipes

Time 50m

Yield 8

Number Of Ingredients 13

Ingredients

6 serrano peppers
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 poblano pepper
1 bunch fresh cilantro with stems
½ bunch fresh Italian parsley
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
¾ cup olive oil
3 chayote squash
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 lime, juiced
⅓ cup crumbled soft goat cheese
1 teaspoon pumpkin seeds, or to taste

Steps:

Heat a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Place serrano chiles and garlic in the hot skillet. Cook until blistered and browned on the outside and slightly softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Roast poblano over an open flame until blackened all over; wrap up in a paper towel to let steam.
Place serranos and garlic in a bowl; let cool until safe to handle. Peel the garlic and remove stems and seeds from serranos and poblano.
Place cilantro and parsley in a blender. Add peppers, garlic, salt, and olive oil. Pulse on and off, scraping down the sides if necessary, until puree is fairly smooth and slightly coarse. Store pesto in a bowl until ready to use.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
Halve and quarter chayote lengthwise. Remove seeds and cut into 1-inch pieces. Place on a lined baking sheet. Toss with olive oil and salt.
Bake in the preheated oven until chayote is just barely fork-tender and lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and add lime juice, 2 to 3 heaping spoonfuls of pesto, and goat cheese. Transfer salad to a serving dish and garnish with pumpkin seeds.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 243.4 calories, Carbohydrate 6.4 g, Cholesterol 4.6 mg, Fat 24.1 g, Fiber 2.3 g, Protein 2.6 g, SaturatedFat 4.3 g, Sodium 519.1 mg, Sugar 1.9 g