Gringo Pinto: Chayote Picadillo

Chayote is one of my favorite new "vegetables" that Costa Rica introduced to me. I think it is actually a fruit. As you can see, it kind of looks like a pear. As you can also see, it kind of looks like a butt. Cue Tina Belcher.

But anyways, what you can’t see is that it tastes like a squash or zucchini - which are its cousins (or something) in the gourd family. I like them better than squash and zucchini. They maintain their crisp texture when cooked, and can fool you into thinking you might be eating a potato. They are starchy, but not nearly as heavy as a potato, and they are a tad sweeter. They have a very neutral flavor and pick up the essence of whatever you are cooking it with.

It's a native of Mexico, but has been introduced to a lot of different places, and is quite popular in Costa Rica and Brazil. It's pretty healthy: low calorie, high fiber, good source of vitamins and potassium, according to this site.

My favorite way (and really, the only way) I’ve prepared it is in a picadillo. I guess the most North American version of a picadillo would be some sort of “hash” like potato or corned beef or something. It’s just a bunch of vegetables (and in my case, meat) chopped and sauteed together. It’s cheap, quick, easy to prepare and one of the only options with our limited “kitchen”, aka the Big Black Pan.

It starts out quite beautiful. I use 3 chayote, some bell peppers, a large yellow onion, and of course, garlic.

I start with the onion, garlic and peppers chopped, and throw them in the Big Black Pan.

Alright, please excuse the aside here, but I’m kind of obsessed with efficient food prep, and this is my advice on how to quickly chop a bell pepper.

Step 1: Halves

Step 2: Strips

Step 3: Dice

TA DA! No rocket science there, but it's painful to watch someone take longer than a minute or so cut up an awkwardly shaped pepper.

I cook these down for a few minutes, waiting for all those yummy smells before I add the meat. I add the meat first to get it cooked through before the chayote, because the chayote doesn't take that long.

You could definitely make this without meat, but my roommates and I are proud meat eaters, and I like to do half ground pork and half ground beef.

I will also add a few spices. I've come to love this super-easy Season All. I am a huge fan of cumin and this wouldn't be a Costa Rican dish without some Lizano - a Tico staple (although I add it last).

So while the meat, peppers & onions are cooking, let's take a look at these weird fruit/vegetable/gourdy things.

First of all, they must be peeled. The skin is tough and not good to eat. The skin is weird though - sometimes it has little spines on it that make it difficult to peel. Kind of like okra hairs? But bigger. Thankfully, these did not have the little spines. But the chayote oozes this weird sticky/slippery substance when peeled. One literally flew out of my hand. It's nontoxic, but it can irritate some people's skin. You can peel them under running water if that is the case.

After it is peeled, you cut them into smaller pieces. I start by cutting the whole fruit in half, which exposes the seed.

Once it is cut in half, I use a spoon to scoop out the seed. It is soft and easy to do.

Now you've got these nice little pear half looking things that can be chopped and diced and thrown in with your meat & other veggies.

Make sure to go the extra mile and really peel these suckers. It can be tough on that little butt crack crease (hehe) but I accidentally left some remnants on this batch, thinking it would just cook down, but it really is tough and inedible.