Southwestern Chayote Casserole

I’d been planning for days to make a vegan version of one of the mirliton casserole recipes on the internet. I’d even cooked the mirliton in advance so that the casserole would be that much quicker to make. But then lack of celery spoiled the whole plan.

Mirliton? Celery? Wondering what the heck I’m talking about?

Mirliton by FotoosVanRobin on Flickr

Mirliton=Chayote=Chouchou=a squash-like vegetable with many names. In Louisiana we call them mirlitons (pronounced mee-li-tawns, in parts of the state) and eat them stuffed and in casseroles. I’ve written about them a few times before, with Mirliton and White Bean Stew being one of my favorite recipes on this blog. Many U.S. supermarkets now sell them as chayotes, so before you write them off as some exotic ingredient that you won’t be able to get, look for the light-green, pear-shaped vegetables near the ginger root and bean sprouts in your local grocery store.

Now, about that casserole. As you know celery is part of the “trinity” of ingredients that’s considered essential in most of Louisiana cooking. When I realized I didn’t have any, I just couldn’t bring myself to make a mirliton casserole without it. After all, I was already planning to leave out the seafood, ham, butter, bread crumbs, and cornflakes of the traditional version; without celery, I just didn’t think it’d be a Louisiana recipe at all! So I made a sudden turn and decided to go a little more southwest with the recipe: instead of seafood—beans; instead of bread crumbs and cornflakes—cornbread. The results were completely different from the mirliton casserole I had envisioned, but very, very good.

Ingredients

3 chayote squash
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
chipotle chile powder, to taste (I used about 1/8 tsp. to keep this casserole mild)
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups cooked pinto or other beans (I used a mixture of different chili beans)
1/2 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein) granules*
3/4 cup vegetable broth*
salt to taste

Cornbread topping:

1 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup boiling water

Instructions

Cook the chayotes in boiling water until they are soft enough that they can be pierced to the middle with a fork. Set aside to cool (you may continue on with the recipe and come back to the chayotes later). When they are cool enough to handle, cut them in half from top to bottom, remove the seed from the center, and eat it. (Seriously, the seeds are tasty, but throw them away if you don’t like them.) If the skin of your chayote is tough or bitter, as some varieties are, peel it; then cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
Sauté the onions in a large non-stick pan until they begin to brown. Add the bell pepper, jalapeño, and garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Add all remaining ingredients, including the cubed chayote but excluding the topping; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 F and oil a large casserole dish. Transfer the chayote mixture to the casserole dish. Prepare the cornmeal topping by mixing the dry ingredients and stirring in the boiling water until smooth. Drop it by spoonfuls over the casserole, and then smooth it evenly over the top. Bake until the topping is firm and beginning to get crisp, about 25-30 minutes. Makes about 6 servings.

Notes

*Note: Instead of TVP, you may substitute 1 cup of corn or additional cooked beans for the TVP and vegetable broth.

Preparation time: 15 minute(s)

Cooking time: 55 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 6

Nutrition (per serving): 219 calories, 16 calories from fat, 1.9g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 627.7mg sodium, 503.2mg potassium, 44.1g carbohydrates, 9.3g fiber, 8.5g sugar, 9g protein, 6.4 points.

Comments

MIA
October 6, 2010 at 12:58 pm

I can’t believe I am the first to comment on this! I think I might be incapable of directly following a recipe, so I used corn instead of TVP, as I had it in the house. I also upped the chipotle to a level Susan’s daughter would probably never let her 🙂 It turned out great, my carnivore boyfriend loved it, especially the cornmeal crust! When I first mixed it up I was worried it had too much liquid, but I had to let it sit about 15 min while the filling finished cooking & the oven heated up, and it crisped up perfectly. I highly recommend trying this one!

SusanV
October 6, 2010 at 2:06 pm

Thanks so much for posting your feedback! Almost all of the comments on my older posts were lost when I changed my blogging platform a few months ago, so no one knows which recipes have been tried and recommended. I’m so glad you liked the recipe, and I really appreciate your taking the time to comment.

Leah
December 27, 2010 at 4:06 pm

Yum! I’ve never had chayote but I was inspired at the market and bought 2 large ones. I made this and loved it. The only big change I made was that I made the topping more of a polenta (by adding more water and simmering before topping b/c it reminds me of Amy’s Tamale Pie, which I love).

Leata
March 20, 2011 at 4:45 pm

I really liked this. My family doesn’t like spicy hot, so I used about a quarter of the chili powder and half of the paprika and no chipotle (mostly because I couldn’t find it). I used a red bell pepper, a dark green pasilla pepper instead of jalapeño pepper, frozen corn instead of TVP (but I did use the broth), and I doubled the garlic. The result was rather festively colorful as well as tasty.

Godtold
March 24, 2011 at 2:58 am

realy like that. Thanks for give me inspire how to make chayote more delicious.

Toni
September 26, 2013 at 11:36 pm

I must have overdid it because I used 3 chayote but they were on the large size. So I had to use 2 casserole dishes. Also the cornmeal mixture seemed to be too watery since I couldn’t spoon it so I ended up making a double batch of the corn topping and used 2 1/2 cups of corn meal and 2 cups water. So my questions Susan, should the cornmeal mixture be on the thick side AND when you saute the onions/peppers, did you use any oil? TASTES GREAT THOUGH.

Carrie
April 10, 2014 at 5:30 pm

Used spaghetti squash instead of chayote because that’s what I had on hand and it was fab! Thanks!

rigo
April 19, 2014 at 5:44 pm

oh chayotes, are absolutely wonderful. In Mexico where I live , we have had them for food for thousands of years, just like corn, beans, squash and tacos, and its actually sold boiled in corner stands. Its amazing that somebody named them Mirlitons, wonder how they came to choose this word. Oh, and the chayote seed once its cooked its the most tasty thing in the world, actually people fight over it, we call it “pepita de chayote”. Chayote gets its name from the nahuatl (ancient mexican) language Chayotl. Best regards.

Jonette
June 5, 2014 at 3:13 pm

I made this today. Is the topping supposed to be extremely dry? I had to add half again the amount of water.

Cynthia
April 7, 2018 at 3:13 pm

I was just given a dozen Chayote and looked for a recipe. Yours looks delicious and I will be trying it tomorrow. I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks!

Southwestern Chayote Casserole