Stuffed Mirlitons Chayete Recipes

BAKED STUFFED MIRLITONS (CHAYOTE OR VEGETABLE PEARS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Soak the dry toast/stale bread in water; squeeze out and set to the side.
• Cut vegetables in half lengthwise; remove seed in center.
• Boil in water until tender.
• Scoop out and and mash or chop; reserve the shell for stuffing.
• Saute the onions, garlic until translucent; add the ground pork and cook to a light brown.
• Add 1 cup of water and cook slowly.
• Add the drained and mashed or cut up vegetable and the toast/bread to the sausage mixture.
• Mix well, season to taste with salt and pepper and fill reserved shells.
• Sprinkle with bread crumbs and dot with butter.
• Bake until crumbs brown, approximately 30 minutes.

MIRLITON (CHAYOTE) CASSEROLE

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.

SHRIMP STUFFED MIRLITONS (CHAYOTE OR VEGETABLE PEARS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Parboil mirlitons/chayote/vegetable pears until almost tender.
• Cut in half and scoop out the meat; mash and set aside, reserving shells.
• Saute onion and garlic in shortening until translucent; add celery and cook until tender.
• Add mashed mirlitons, shrimp, 1/2 of the cheese, and salt and pepper to the sauteed vegetables.
• Fill the reserved shells, cover with remaining cheese and bread crumbs.
• Bake until crumbs have browned, approximately 30 minutes.

MIRLITONS FARCIS AUX CREVETTES (CHAYOTES STUFFED WITH SHRIMP)

Steps:

• Split chayotes lengthwise in half. Put in kettle of cold water and add salt to taste. Bring to boil and 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 seeds of each half, leaving shell of about eighth of an inch thick or slightly thicker. Set the shells aside. Chop flesh and seeds fine. There should be about one cup. Set aside.
• Peel and devein shrimp and chop coarsely. There should be about one and a quarter cups. Set aside.
• When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Heat half the butter in saucepan and add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, until wilted. Sprinkle with flour and stir to distribute evenly. Add milk, stirring rapidly with wire whisk.
• When sauce is thickened and smooth, add chopped pulp. Bring to boil, stirring, and add ginger and scallions.
• Remove from heat and stir in egg yolk. Let stand to room temperature. Stir in shrimp, salt pepper, quarter cup of bread crumbs and parsley.
• Use mixture to stuff chayote halves. Pile up and smooth over.
• Blend remaining quarter cup of bread crumbs and 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.

SHRIMP-STUFFED MIRLITONS

Steps:

• Cut mirlitons in half and scoop out the large seed in the middle. Boil in salted water to cover for 25 minutes, or until tender when punctured with the tines of a fork. Be careful not to overcook.
• Drain and cool for 15 minutes, then scrape out insides into a colander to drain. Leave 1/4 inch of flesh inside shell, being careful not to puncture skin.
• Chop drained mirliton flesh and add to a medium bowl. Mix in butter, lemon juice, parsley, salt, pepper, cayenne, Worcestershire sauce and 1/2 cup bread crumbs; set aside.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Heat oil in a medium saucepan or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper and celery and sauté until almost translucent. Add garlic, green onion and tomatoes for just about 2 minutes. Add shrimp for 30 seconds to give them a touch of color. Quickly remove pan from heat and let it sit for 3 to 5 minutes to cool slightly. Fold sautéed ingredients into mirliton mixture.
• Scoop stuffing mixture into each mirliton half. Place mirliton in an oven-safe 1 1/2-inch deep pan. You may need two pans. Dust top of each mirliton evenly with remaining bread crumbs. Pour stock into pans to a half-inch depth, before covering and baking. Cover pans tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until tops are lightly browned.

SEAFOOD-STUFFED MIRLITON/CHAYOTE

Steps:

• Steam or boil the mirlitons until the flesh is just tender -- try not to overcook or the shell will fall apart. (Seven minutes in the microwave, 10 minutes in salted boiling water on the stovetop.) Cool slightly and scoop out the flesh, leaving a 1/4-inch shell. Set the flesh aside.
• Saute the onion, garlic, celery and parsley in the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes until very tender, adding chicken broth if the vegetables become dry and begin to stick. Add the squash and mash with a potato masher. Cook until squash liquid evaporates.
• Stir in the shrimp and crabmeat and cook until most shrimp are pink, about 2 minutes. Add enough bread crumbs to absorb any liquid in the mixture. Fill the mirliton shells with the mixture. Sprinkle with additional crumbs and dot generously with butter.
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes until topping is crisp and golden.

STUFFED MIRLITON

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375° F.
• In a large pot, boil the mirlitons in lightly salted water until the flesh is tender, about 6 minutes. Remove from the pot and cool under running tap water. Halve them and, using a metal spoon, remove the seeds and discard. Gently scoop all of the flesh out of the shells. Set the flesh and shells aside.
• In a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat, melt 6 tablespoons of the butter. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, green onions, ham, and garlic. Cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are wilted. Add a little of the chicken broth if the mixture becomes too dry. Add the mirliton flesh and cook for 20 minutes. Add the shrimp and parsley and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle in 1 cup of the bread crumbs.
• Mound the stuffing mixture into the mirliton shells. Put the halves in a baking dish and top with the remaining 1/2 cup bread crumbs. Dot with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and pour the remaining broth in the baking dish. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the crumbs are golden brown.