298817 Fri Oct 15 12:11:09 -0700 2004 12 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1653473 Any good ideas on what to do with mirlitons? Fri Oct 15 12:11:09 -0700 2004 0 Frolic 1 1653477 OK, I am pleading complete ignorance here...what the heck is a "mirliton"??? Thanks! Fri Oct 15 12:18:35 -0700 2004 1653473 0 folklaur70 2 1653479 It looks like a combination of green apple and a bell pepper. A crate of them recently appeared in my New Orleans neighborhood grocery store. People have told me they don't have much taste. Generally they need to be stuffed. I've seen some recipes that involved loading them down with crab and rich sauces, but I'm looking for something a little less complicated. I'm not sure how limited they are to this region. Link: http://www.frolicofmyown.com Fri Oct 15 12:23:39 -0700 2004 1653477 0 Frolic 3 1653617 My Mexican mom boiled them with chiles and topped them with a little cotija cheese and they were so wonderful... Rick Bayless has a good recipe for a chayote casserole in his cookbook... I'll see if I can track it down. Sun Oct 17 00:40:59 -0700 2004 1653479 0 snackish 2 1653482 Everyone outside of New Orleans calls these Chayote (sp) squash. I have a recipe from Justin Wilson at home but don't have access to it right now. If you do a search I'm sure you will find more on Chayote than Mirliton. Fri Oct 15 12:38:12 -0700 2004 1653477 0 chileheadmike 3 1653485 Thanks. I'll see what I can find on Chayote. Link: http://www.frolicofmyown.com Fri Oct 15 12:52:22 -0700 2004 1653482 0 Frolic 4 1653533 Besides chayote squash, they are also known as a vegetable pear. Mirliton can be substituted for almost any recipe that calls for eggplant, zucchini, or squash. Fri Oct 15 18:27:05 -0700 2004 1653485 0 CherBebe 5 1653539 Also known as christophine in the French Caribbean and Trinidad, cho-cho in Jamaica. Fri Oct 15 19:37:03 -0700 2004 1653533 0 lintsao 6 1653621 Also known as a Choko in Australia. Pronounced as choke-o. Sun Oct 17 10:46:35 -0700 2004 1653539 0 cap 1 1653493 Here are two recipes from Justin Wilson; Mirliton Salad with Roquefort Dressing Raw or cooked mirliton, sliced and arranged on a bed of lettuce 1 TBSP lime juice, 2 TBSP olive oil, 4 TBS mayonnaise, 2 tsp salt, 1 TBSP wine vinegar, 4 TBSP sour cream, sprinkling of red pepper, as much Roquefort as you like. Beat olive oil into mayo. Add lime juice and vinegat, salt, and red pepper, stirring constantly. Add sour cream, and then add the Roquefort cheese. Mix well and spoon over mirliton. Smothered Mirliton Bacon, mirliton, onions, chopped, garlic, chopped, red cayenne pepper, to taste, salt, to taste. Fry bacon and remove from skillet. Slice mirliton lengthwise and remove seed. Cut mirliton into thin pieces. Place in cold water. Fry onions in bacon fat until tender. Add garlic and pepper and cook for a few seconds then add drained mirliton and bacon pieces. Cover and simmer stirring frequently until mirlitons are tender. Amounts are by volume; if you have 2 cups of cut-up mirlitons, then you should have 2 cups of chopped onions. Fri Oct 15 14:05:15 -0700 2004 1653473 0 Neta 1 1653522 My favorite application is the "Huisquil" that I had at Salvadoran places in DC. The chayote is cut in half and stuffed with a white farmer's cheese and then broiled in a light tomato sauce. Sometimes it is also lightly breaded on the outside. Fri Oct 15 16:44:15 -0700 2004 1653473 0 butterfly 1 1653556 My favorite is a Paul Prudhomme recipe called Crawfish Magnifique. Halve, scoop, and parboil the mirlitons, then dredge lightly in flour and deep fry them. Each fried mirliton half is then a pirogue to drown in a slightly modified crawfish etouffee. Heaven on earth when crawfish is in season -- you have a couple months to plan. :) I've used mirlitons in less hedonous dishes as well -- they have a wonderful and quite delicate flavor, but are a great canvas, and do well with seafood. I improvised a pretty good Cajun ratatouille (similar to the recipe linked below; I used less eggplant but wish I'd added some Tony's), and I imagine they'd be great in a cold spicy salad. I incorporated some into a caribbean-spiced dish that worked well ... I'll try to remember what I did with it. Blue skies, Catherine Link: http://www.gumbopages.com/food/veg/creole-rat.html Sat Oct 16 00:14:19 -0700 2004 1653473 0 Catherine 1 1653569 Soupe de Mirlitons 5 Mirlitons, skin, seed, dice 1/2 pound Bacon, diced 2 Onions, dice 3 ribs Celery, dice 4 cloves Garlic, dice 2 Jalapeno peppers 1 Bay leaf 1 tablespoon Chicken base 1 teaspoon Curry powder 1 cup Cream 2 quarts Water or good chicken broth (if you have this, then leave out chicken base and add salt to taste) Salt and pepper 1 cup Cooked rice Saute the diced bacon until crisp; reserve drippings. Saute onions, celery, garlic and mirlitons in the bacon drippings until limp; do not brown. Add water, jalapeno, bay leaf and chicken base. Let simmer for aproximately 45 minutes. Add cream and curry just before serving. Heat through. Place a little rice in bottom of soup bowl. Pour hot soup over rice and place a couple of crisp bacon pieces on top. Source: Paraphrased from a recipe from La Provence Restaurant, Chef Chris Kerageorgiu, LaCombe, LA Sat Oct 16 12:12:04 -0700 2004 1653473 0 Nancy Berry