A successful experiment with the chayote harvest yesterday. I tried out a brand new recipe, and it turned out to be utterly delicious. I'm even more of a chayote fan now.
For a long time, it seemed like I wouldn't be able to harvest any chayotes at all. By the end of August, the fruits on the plants were only the size of a grape. I had actually given up already. To my surprise, I was able to harvest some fully grown chayotes last week.
Chayote is not only delicious, it is also rich in vitamins and minerals and high in fiber - which is a nice extra, of course.
Since chayote is everything but a common veggie here in Belgium, I didn't exactly know what to do with them. If I remember correctly, we used the ones I harvested last year raw in salads. It's definitely not bad when eaten raw, but it's not really spectacular either. So, I wanted to experiment a little and try out some other ways to prepare this vegetable.
What I came up with yesterday was definitely a success. Sautéed chayote with bacon and herbs. Delicious!
The part I liked most was that most ingredients I used were harvested in my own garden. Obviously, I don't have bacon or white wine growing there, nor lemons - but everything else I got straight out of the garden.
We used this as a side dish, combined with a yummie pork roast.
The main ingredient: chayote. Don't they look amazing?
Ingredients: (for 3 people)
- 2 medium sized chayotes
- 500 gr (18 oz.) bacon, sliced into small pieces
- 1 medium sized onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp of chopped thyme
- 1 tsp of chopped rosemary
- 15 lemon verbena leaves (chopped)
- 2 tbs of white wine
- 2 tsp of fresh lemon juice
- salt and pepper
Preparation:
- Peel the chayotes, cut it in quarters and remove the stone. Cut the quarters in 0.5 cm (0.25 inch) slices.
- Peel the onion, cut it in half and slice it in thin half moons.
- Peel the garlic and press or mince it.
- Bake the bacon until it's crispy. Put it aside, but leave the bacon fat in your frying pan.
- Add the onion, garlic and chayote to the bacon fat. Toss it, so it is covered with the fat. Put a lid on the pan and let it bake until the onion and chayote turn brownish. Don't forget to stir every once in a while. This takes about 10 minutes.
- Add the fresh herbs and the wine. Let it cook for about 5 more minutes until the chayote is tender.
- Finish the dish by adding the bacon and seasoning it with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Bon Appétit
Adaptation of this recipe - All images are my own