I have been walking by the chayote squash in the grocery for quite some time now. I wondered the other day why I would not keep this great item in my fridge at all times. With that thought I picked up some chayote to make a salad. It's really the only way I've had it but I know that many people around the world also cook it. I'll do that eventually.
In the meantime I am enjoying the crunch and apple/cucumber like texture it has with a mild flavor that could lend to it's versatility. This fruit isn't something that is popular in Canada. It's always been available though.
I imagine that hot countries are more likely to make use of it but I know I will now add this to my regular grocery items.
This was a salad that I built as I went along, starting of course with the chayote squash. I decided to dice it.
Since it has an apple like texture and similar look inside, I thought I would throw in an apple.
The apple would add a slight sweetness to the salad in contrast to the dressing which would be tangy.
I decided to chop an English cucumber to add as well.
At this point I decided to go into a Mexican direction which is when I decided to make a simple lime chilly dressing.
Since I was on my way to Mexico I threw in a nice big jalapeno pepper.
This naughty pepper disappointed me with it's lack of heat. The jalapenos that we receive here could be very hot to mild. In Mexico they were always nice and spicy hot.
Next I threw in a chopped red onion. I prefer red onions in my salad rather than white.
I thought it would be appropriate to throw in a cup of organic corn that I had in the freezer. It's difficult to find these days but I pick it up when I can. Some frozen corn is just not worth buying.
It wouldn't be complete without fresh cilantro chopped up. I used a good handful. Even the cilantro that we receive is mild compared to when I was in Mexico.
My friend's husband says he has a cilantro allergy that can kill him. The other day she brought him some guacamole with cilantro in it and he ate it not knowing. I was shocked that she would do it. She said nothing happened and it's all in his head.
It wouldn't be complete without black beans, which I got from a can that was in my cupboard. I also have dried black beans but they would have to be soaked over night. When building a salad on the fly, you need to use what you have at the moment.
Lime chili dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice of 3 limes
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon pepper
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon agave or other sweetener
I often put garlic in my dressings but I omitted it. I wanted the flavors to be similar to Mexican guacamole which has lime, cilantro and onion. Traditional guacamole doesn't have garlic in it. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt though.
This can be a perfect side dish but for us it was dinner.
I added multigrain toast which is what I had but ideally some homemade tortilla chips would have been the tops.
It was perfect served on a bed of lettuce that was first tossed with the dressing.
I like lime quite a bit so I squeezed on extra lime for that fresh zesty taste.
The thing about chayote is that it can go in any flavor direction and I'm excited about the next thing to try. Traveling through food is my current way to travel.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.
