Recipe Round-up: Chayote/Mirliton/Choko/Chow Chow

Chayotes are light green, puckered fruits that are part of the gourd family. In the South, they tend to be called mirlitons/merlitons. Choko in Australia, and chow chow in India. They have many other names in many other places, but those are the ones you are most likely to encounter, I think.

I've never cooked with them, nor eaten them to my knowledge, but they are in season now and cooked much like summer squash. I see them at my local grocery stores whenever they are in season, and I always think, I should try those. I never do. But this summer, I am determined to fix that. However, I needed to find an interesting recipe or two first. I found quite a few recipes and thought I would share them here.

In honor of True Blood returning, I am super pleased to start with a couple of mirliton recipes which are popular in the South, like Lousiana. I think the first thing I want to make with chayotes is the Seaside-Stuffed Mirlitons.

Mirlitons
*Fat Free Vegan's Seaside-Stuffed Mirlitons and Mirliton and White Bean Stew
*Emeril's Spicy Shrimp Stuffed Mirliton (requires veganizing: use vegan shrimp and vegan cheese)

Chayotes
*Fat Free Vegan's Southwestern Chayote Casserole and Creamy Mexican Chayote Soup
*Vegan Adventures of Meggie and Ben's Chayote with Fire Roasted Tomatoes and Green Pepper
*All Creatures [dot] Org's Chayote Squash and Potatoes
*Bon Appetit's Chayote Soup with Lemongrass and Ginger (use veggie broth to veganize)
*The Tropical Vegan's Cucumber and Chayote Slaw
*Stewed Chayote with Tomatoes and Epazote
*The Boulders Resort's (Scottsdale/Carefree) Chayote Squash and Jicama Slaw

Choko
*Choko Chutney

Chow Chow
*Cooking and Me's Chow Chow Kootu and Chow Chow Sambhar with Curd Rice

Calabacitas
(Calabacitas means little squashes, and you can really use any summer squash in most calabacita recipes.)
*Vegan Mischief's Breakfast Calabacitas
*Salad in a Jar's Calabacitas with Potatoes (optional vegan cheese)
*The Temporary Vegetarian's Tacos de Calabacitas (use vegan cheese)


Also, Terry Hope Romero's Viva Vegan cookbook has a recipe for Chayote and Potato Salad with Capers and Peas as well as one for Calabacitas.


If you've got a great chayote recipe, or even a Mexican grey squash recipe, send them my way!