The chayote (Sechium edule), also known as christophene, vegetable pear, starprecianté, citrayota or citrayote (Ecuador and Colombia) and pear squash is an edible plant that belongs to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae along with melons, cucumbers and squash.
The chayote fruit is used in both raw and cooked forms. When cooked, chayote is usually handled like summer squash, it is generally lightly cooked to retain the crisp flavor. Raw chayote may be added to salads or salsas, and it is often marinated with lemon or lime juice. It can also be eaten straight, although the bland flavor makes this a dubious endeavor. Whether raw or cooked, chayote is a good source of amino acids and vitamin C.
Although most people are familiar only with the fruit, the root, stem, seeds, and leaves are all edible.
Phat yot sayongte: Thai for stir-fried chayote shoots. This is what I had, the shoots, leaves and stems!
So there we go, try something new this week. It was fun AND very tasty! There are alot of recipes on the web for using all parts of this vegetable.
