How to Cook Chayotes, Part 2

Most people look at these strange looking "pears" in well-stocked supermarkets and ignore them, not knowing exactly what they are or how to cook them. But they can be very delicious and can be prepared in a variety of ways you might enjoy.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• TVP or any vegan meat you enjoy
• 3 large chayotes
• 2 Tbsp. bread crumbs
• 1 cup vegan "Cheddar" cheese or Pimento "cheese"
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. soy margarine
• Water

1. Please see the first recipe for chayotes to that you will have a good idea on how to prepare them. Wash them, dry them well with a towel or paper towel. Cut them in half lengthwise before you boil them. In a pot, bring several cups of water to a boil with salt to taste. When it begins to boil, add the chayotes. Boil them, covered, over medium heat, about 15 minutes.

2. Grease a baking dish. Drain the chayotes and let them cool so you can handle them without being burned. Peel them and cut out the center pit. Cube them.

3. Put the boiled chayotes across the bottom of the greased baking dish, Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top of them. Add pieces of the soy margarine (or if you do not like to use soy margarine, you may use a drizzle of olive oil). Cover with he pimento cheese and bake at 350º F for 30 minutes.

Tips & Warnings

• Another way of preparing them is like in the main recipe in the Part 1 of the article, but add to the sauce TVP or any other vegan meat substitute for beef or chicken, in the amount you prefer (if you enjoy a lot of sauce, use a little bit, if you like things "meaty", add more), and cook until all is tender and "saucy."
• Finally, you can also boil chayotes in water and salt and use as is, in your salads. Sprinkle a little bit of garlic or onion powder and give them a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a little bit of olive oil. Add lettuce and you've got a tasty, simple salad going! Variation: You can add olives to your sauce if you like.
• Cashew Pimento Cheese
• You can use a commercial vegan cheese for this recipe or use this homemade recipe, which is very good and easy.
• Take 1 medium sized sweet red pepper, seeded and chopped you boil it with 10 to 12 mins in 1 cup of water. In the blender, chop 1/2 block of tofu, add the pimento after boiled with all the water, (the amount of water you add shouldn't exceed 3/4 cup of liquid) add salt to taste, 1/2 cup raw cashews (or raw almonds), add 4 tbsp. cornstarch, 1 1/2 Tbsp. onion powder, 1/8 tsp. garlic powder. Blend everything into a cream, then put in a pot to cook over low heat, stirring occasionally so that that it won't stick, until the "cheese" start to thicken, then cook 15 to 20 minutes after the cheese starts thickening. Some people like to add a little bit of lemon juice to it, but I have noticed, that because the tofu is a curd, the lemon juice sours the cheese in a hurry and it doesn't last as long as when you make it this way. This will be a thick, spreadable cream, but if you let it "set" well, you can also cut it into soft slices.
• You really cannot go wrong here unless you buy the chayotes too "old" and they come out crunchy, or you over cook them, and they come out mushy. So watch them as you cook them, and once they reach "tender", that's it!

[craftybegonia]

on 12/18/2008 If you are adventuresome in the kitchen you can do even more things with them. For example, some people boil them, peel them, and hollow the centers and fill them with potato salad. You can do many things. Hope you try them again.

[Chrisparker]

on 12/15/2008 interesting!!!