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Chayote

Chayote is a local vegetable that, like green bananas, can help stretch your food dollar. It can be prepared as part of a mixed vegetable dish, used in soup, boiled, or baked. Search Google for 'chayote' and you will find many recipes. You can find chayote at almost any vegetable market, including the supermarkets. It's a green, mango shaped member of the squash family and has one large seed. It is an excellent diet food, being very low in calories and fats. We bought chayote at the El Rey supermarket on Calle 50 this week for $.13 a pound, so it is also very economical.

My favorite chayote recipe is below.

Cut chayote in half, lengthwise along the thinner side. You should have two halves that will lie flat. One chayote provides two servings.

Boil or steam the halves until easily pierced with a fork. Do not pierce the skin, but test the flesh part with the fork.

Remove the seed halves, and scrape the flesh out of the skin, being careful not to break the skin. I suggest leaving about 1/8 inch of the flesh in the skin.

Mash the flesh with butter or margarine, adding salt, pepper and other spices to taste.

Stuff the skins with the mashed mixture. Some people like to sprinkle grated cheese on top. Don't be afraid to experiment, this stuff is cheap. Bake at 350 degrees until the top is lightly browned.

Enjoy

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