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Chayote Cream Soup with cheese and roasted pepitas is our suggestion for this lent Friday. Chayote is a vegetable from the cucurbitaceae family same as melons, cucumbers and squash.
Chayotes are very popular in Mexico, where my mom had a chayote bush growing in our backyard garden. Chayotes can be deep green and thorny but the type of chayote I am using for this recipe is light green and with no thorns. Both taste the same it is just easier to cook those without the thorns for obvious reasons.
Chayote Cream Soup
Ingredients
- 4 in fresh chayotes peeled and cuthalves
- 6 cups of water
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup of five cheese Italian blend shredded cheese
- 1/2 cup of toasted pepitas
Instructions
- Prep the chayotes and cook with 6 cups of water on a deep soup pan for about 20 minutes until tender
- When the chayotes are fully cooked drop them inside the blender along with 2 or 3 cups of the water used for cooking them and the butter.
- Pour this preparation back to the soup pan, add another cup of the water used for cooking the chayotes, season with salt and pepper to taste and let it simmer.
- Serve hot and garnish with grated cheese and toasted pepitas.
The chayote cream soup recipe is satisfying and luscious, a very nice option for a meatless Friday starter. This soup is very easy to make and nutritious. Chayotes are a good source of vitamin C and when you cut them open have a small seed that has a very nice nutty taste.
When my mom was used to cook chayotes I was always the winner of the small seed inside, one of my favorite things when cooking with her. It is just wonderful how food can bring you so many great memories and take you home to that very moment that you felt so much joy.
Cooking this chayote cream soup for my family is like bringing my mom’s dish alive and sharing this tradition with those I love, while teaching them about my culture and telling fun stories when growing up.
But cooking chayotes has a trick, many people cook them with the skin on and then peel. There is a reason for this. When peeling the raw chayote the uncooked skin has a milky sticky liquid that can stay in your hands for many days.
For this recipe I am peeling the chayote raw because in order to get a luscious creamy soup you need to blend it hot with butter, and cannot wait for the chayotes to get cold and then peel. That is why I recommend to use gloves when peeling to avoid the stickiness to stay in your hands.
Bringing chayote to your kitchen will give you a great opportunity to introduce your family to a tasty new vegetable that can be eaten cooked or raw. Chayotes are juicy and crunchy when raw, are a great addition to salads or you can eat them as a snack with lemon drops and some salt.
You can also cook the chayotes for casserole dishes with bechamel sauce and cheese, or why not try my recipe and make a yummy chayote cream soup garnished with cheese and roasted pepitas.
Don’t forget to follow the 7 Weeks of Lent Recipes series, where we are sharing weekly recipe to inspire you to cook lent appropriate dishes at home.
A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just ~ Pope Francis
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