A while ago the community went shopping together at a market in one of the predominantly Hispanic areas. The place had a phenomenal selection of produce, and equally amazing prices. Among the items we purchased were some mirlitons, which I had never seen outside of New Orleans. They got lost in the vegetable bin, and by the time they surfaced last week, one was too far gone to think about, but the others... well, made me think of Maman's casserole, a Thanksgiving staple. So I set myself to reproducing that experience. With the help of the internet, of course! (I googled "mirliton casserole" and found that there were several options!) I also learned that another name for mirliton is "chayote squash." And that if it is Mexican or old, you have to peel it. Since mine was probably one and definitely the other, that's what I did to start.
Then I boiled the mirliton. As they cooled, I browned some ground beef with bacon, drained away the grease (yuk) and put it aside. Then I chopped a small onion, very fine, and two ribs of celery (very old and flexible) and about a quarter of a red pepper--again, very, very fine. With some oil in a pot, I first browned some chopped garlic, and then added the other veggies. When these were getting soft, I added the mirliton, after having cut out its seed and chopped its pale green flesh. A little simmer, and then I added the meat, and let these all cook together. After a while, I added Italian-style bread crumbs and an egg, as if I were making a meat loaf, and I molded it into a casserole dish, to bake at 350 until it seemed done.
And you know what? It smelled exactly like Maman's! (I think she must have used the same brand of bread crumbs...)
4 comments:
That smells good all the way over here! :)
Sounds like you did a fine job. I have the original receipe which I will share, hey! this week! Love, Mary
What is a mirliton? I don't think we have them in Australia.
A "mirliton" is a creole vegetable, known outside of New Orleans as the chayote squash. It is a pale green pear shaped vegetable, very mild in flavor. I "stuff" them with a shrimp and breadcrumb mixture almost identical to the way Sr. Anne fixed them, except I do not peel them before boiling. After they are tender, I cut them in half long-ways, remove the seed, and scoop out the "meat," leaving a bit of a shell behind. I mix the vegetable with onion, celery, garlic, and parsley, and add a cup of chopped shrimp. When the shrimp are cooked, I add breadcrumbs, and season to taste. I then "stuff" this mixture back into the shell and bake until hot. Yum!
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