STUFFED CHAYOTES
STUFFED CHAYOTES
1 chayote, washed very well and cut in half
1 tbs olive oil
½ onion or shallot, finely chopped
½ bell pepper, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 piquillo peppers, chopped
1 tbs capers
4-5 grape tomatoes, chopped
1 tbs goat cheese
2 tbs parmesan cheese
1 tbs almonds, lightly toasted
Salt and Freshly Cracked black pepper
In a medium sized pot filled with salted water, place the chayote halfs and boil until the flesh is fork-tender just like a potato. This should take about 20 minutes. When you check for doneness, do not prick on the side of the skin, only thru the side of the flesh. When they’re done, take them out of the water using a slotted spoon or a “spider” and allow them to cool.
Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over medium high heat add the oil, onion/shallot, garlic and bell pepper and sauté until they’ve softened. Add the piquillo peppers, capers and grape tomatoes and mix together and cook lightly so they release some of their juices until they become one with the onions/peppers mix. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and set aside.
Carefully take the chayote halves and scoop out as much flesh as you can using a spoon. I guess a grapefruit spoon would work great, but I do not have one. Try not to disturb the shell/skin. Set the shells aside while we work with the flesh.
In a bowl mix together the flesh we just took out, the mix in the skillet, goat cheese and almonds. Mix together by mashing everything with a fork or a potato masher.
Pre-heat toaster oven to 350° F.
Refill the chayote skin shells with the mixture and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until the top is crusty and golden brown.
October 28th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
MOCK BACALAITOS
½ cup whole wheat pastry flour - this will work well with spelt flour too
About equal parts of water
1 tbs sofrito
½ tbs of Kosher Salt
½ tbs of Pepper
Canola oil to fry
I’ll be honest, I have never measured the amounts of the seasoning… but the batter should taste well-seasoned. You need it to taste like something, not just like wet flour.
In a large skillet, heat about 1 ½ inches of canola oil. Make sure the oil is very hot before frying the first batch. Try inserting the back end of a wooden spoon into the oil and the oil will be ready when you see bubbles around the wood.
Using a large spoon or ladle, pour some of the batter into the oil, like making silver-dollar pancakes. Wait until the batter has set a bit on the first “bacalaito” before you pour on another ladle. If they fuse to each other, they’ll be difficult to turn.
Fry on one side until the batter turns crisp and golden brown on one side. Flip and fry some more until evenly golden.
Transfer the fritters onto a plate with paper towels to drain the excess oil. No need to season them again.
Enjoy them as a snack with your favorite natural soda or natural juice drink. Give these to anyone at a party and you’ll see them flying off the plate. There are restaurants here that serve these as appetizers even.
This is definitely not food for everyday… this is a fried snack to eat sparingly. But believe me, I make a batch of these before going to any street festival so that the smell of the real kind will not lure me in… trying to keep those temptations at bay…
And to all those Puerto Ricans out there… there’s no need to do without these Puerto Rican delicacies when you go vegetarian…
January 28th, 2011 at 2:15 pm
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