Roasted Chayote Salad

Gifted with a rather abundant supply of Chayote fruits this week, I was a little stumped what to do with them. While there were plenty of suggestions online and locally the suggestion was "curry", nothing really took my fancy.

And so I posted about chayote last week (post link: Chayote, Food Security & Sustainability) and got one really great suggestion from Hive account@buckaroobaby - to roast them, like you would a potato or a sweet potato. And so this afternoon, in my modest little kitchen here in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand, I officially created a new dish:

Roasted Chayote Salad.

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My Ingredients:

Chayote & a little oil, salt & dried oregano for roasting them
Broccoli
Red cabbage
Green, purple or snake beans
Tomatoes - cherry, roma or little local Thai tomatoes like mine
Roasted green pumpkin kernels
Spring onions
Fresh coriander
Small to medium red onion
Lime (or lemon) juice & a tiny drizzle of organic black sesame oil for dressing

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I started with some of the Chayote we'd been given, and used 4 of the bigger ones.

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I peeled them, quartered them, and then took out the seeds.

Next I cut them into biggish chunks, sprinkled a little mineral salt, dried oregano and a drizzle of oil, and mixed it all up so the pieces were coated.

Then they went onto a flat try in an already HOT little toaster oven for about 30 mins till they were tender, smelled yummy and were staring to brown. So what DOES roasted chayote taste like? It's not very different from roasted zucchini. It's a GREAT food choice for people choosing to lower their carbohydrate intake, whilst getting maximum nutrition!

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While the chayote were roasting away, I blanched my snake beans and broccoli and then drained and iced them so they'd keep their colour. And I shredded up my red cabbage finely and chopped up my Thai tomatoes.

While the Chayote was cooling, I sliced a smallish red onion, chopped some spring onions, chopped some coriander and got my roasted green pumpkin kernels ready.

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This next step is critical: pause for 10 mins and enjoy a leisurely glass of wine or a pre-dinner whiskey whilst feeling like a complete kitchen goddess! 🍷

Toss everything together and then let it rest for 5 mins. Sprinkle with a few extra roasted pumpkin seeds just before serving.

Voila!!

Flavourful, filling, incredibly nutritious and superb value. Time in the kitchen was only about 30 mins - ok 40 if you include the wine break.

Cooking with new food sources and ingredients we're not super familiar with can be so much fun, and can open up a whole new world of flavours and ideas.