Crusty Chayote Casserole Food

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.

CHAYOTES RELLENO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook unpeeled squash in lightly salted water until crisp tender, about 15 minutes. Drain well. Scoop out most of flesh, leaving 1/4-inch thick shell. Season shell with salt and pepper. Coarsely chop chayote flesh. Set aside.
• Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and salt and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until most of liquid evaporates. Add garlic, jalapeno and cumin and saute until fragrant. Add tomatoes and reserved chayote flesh. Stir until most of liquid evaporates. Stir in epazote, bread crumbs and almonds. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into shells. Sprinkle with cheese. Arrange shells in large baking pan. Pour enough hot water around shells to reach 1/4-inch. Bake until heated through, about 15 minutes.

CHAYOTE & POTATO CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Boil the potatoes & chayotes until just tender about 3-4 minutes, drain.
• Melt 2 tbsp butter in a skillet and stir fry the shallots& peppers until just tender apprx 6 minutes, remove from heat and pour into a dish Melt remaining butter in the same skillet, stir in the flour and when well browned slowly add the milk and cream, whisk over medium heat until the sauce boils and thickens, stir and cook 2 minutes longer Add the shallots& peppers to the sauce, add salt, pepper& nutmeg, stir in 1/4 cup of cheese Spread the potato& chayotes in a shallow baking dish, add sauce& mix gently Smoothe the top and sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese.
• Cover with foil& bake in 350F until bubbling (apprx 20 minutes), remove foil and allow the cheese to brown- 10 more minutes Serve hot.

CRUSTY CHAYOTE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Use a vegetable peeler to peel the chayotes, then cut them in half through the stem end, and use a small knife or spoon to wedge out the pit from each piece. Cut into 3/4-inch cubes. In a vegetable steamer, steam the chayote until crisp-tender, about 15 minutes. Stir the chayote around every 3-4 minutes for even cooking. Prepare the roasted poblano rajas from the accompanying recipe. Preheat oven to 350. Add the corn, milk and cooked chayote to a skillet with the rajas and bring to a boil. Taste and add salt. Spoon half of the mixture into a well-buttered 9x9-inch or 11x7-inch baking dish. Top with half of the Chihuahua cheese, the remaining chayote mixture, then the remaining cheese. Bake until bubbling nicely and beginning to brown, about 20 minutes. While the chayote is baking, melt the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and stir it into the crumbs. Mix with the queso anejo, sprinkle over the casserole and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes more, until crusty and browned. Let stand 5 minutes before sprinkling with the cilantro and digging in.