Chayote!

A new vegetable. Part of my Sixty@sixty challenge. That is, the six new fruits and veggies part of the challenge. I already have three done. This is the fourth. Where did I find chayote and what is it?

I stopped at Weis the other day on the way home from the Conservancy. I needed a few items and wanted to see how their renovations turned out. They completely redid the store. They need to be competitive now that Harris Teeter is coming to Waverly. Harris Teeter opens in April.

The new Weis is pretty different. I was looking for fresh basil, to use in my Meyer lemon basil fizz, and to use in a tomato sauce. I like the living basil plants.

The basil has nothing to do with the recipe, but was the reason I stopped at the store. Weis has some fairly interesting veggies in their produce section. They have yacon which I blogged about after getting it in my CSA basket.

Lots of good Latin and Mexican veggies there. Reasonable prices too.

So, what could I do that was interesting with chayote. It is in the squash family. Not really flavorful. It seems to be one of those veggies that takes on the flavors of your seasonings and broths. I found a “posole” recipe on epicurious. Not real posole with pork and hominy, but a vegetarian take on it.

Traditionalists don’t like it much. But, it was pretty decent. I did alter the recipe a bit to use what I could find, and what I have here.

I used canned hominy, aka posole. This gave me another check off on my 60@60 list. A childhood memory. My dad used to make hominy for breakfast, with sausage.

Cook the homily in a quart of veggie broth. You need more for dried hominy, but the canned is already cooked so less evaporation. Meanwhile, in a large pot, cook one diced onion and a couple of cloves of minced garlic in olive oil, until browned. Add one pound of washed cut up greens. I used broccoli rabe. The recipe calls for collards. Didn’t have any. Add two julienned pitted chayote. A cup of the broth from the hominy pot. Simmer for twenty minutes, covered. Toast a half cup of pecans, chopped. Add the pecans, a half cup of dried cherries, an ounce of cider vinegar and the hominy with the rest of the broth and cook uncovered at a low heat for twenty more minutes. Just before serving, add a teaspoon or so of salt, and three tablespoons of butter.

I have to admit. This is really, really good. Not real posole, but a very satisfying vegetarian stew.

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