Food for Thought

Certain foods bring me straight back to childhood. As most Louisianians, I was raised on seafood and Cajun Creole cooking and my maternal grandmother especially favored dishes with mirliton, homegrown of course. Mirliton [pronounced melly-tawn or mel-uh-tahn] is also known as Chayote Squash and has a juicy, delicate flavor when cooked—like squash for beginners.

Mom is in town, so I invited my sister and brother over for a throwback dinner. We started with Potato and Leek soup and moved onto Chef John Folse's Stuffed Mirlitons, which was just perfect for a cool night. But the best part was being taken back 20 years to my grandmother's cooking; that always makes for the ultimate meal!

Crabmeat and Shrimp Stuffed Mirliton
Prep Time: 1½ Hours; Serves 6

6 mirlitons, sliced lengthwise
1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
¼ pound butter
1 cup diced onions
1 cup diced celery
½ cup diced red bell peppers
¼ cup minced garlic
1 tbsp chopped basil
salt and black pepper to taste
Louisiana hot sauce to taste
¼ cup chopped parsley
2 cups Italian bread crumbs
12 pats butter

Preheat oven to 375°F. Boil sliced mirlitons in lightly-salted water 30–40 minutes or until meat is tender enough to scoop from shells. Once tender, remove from water and cool. Using a teaspoon, remove seeds and gently scoop all meat out of shell, careful not to tear shell. Reserve meat and discard excess liquid accumulated while scooping meat. Save shells for stuffing.

In a 12-inch cast iron skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Sauté onions, celery, bell peppers, garlic and basil until vegetables are wilted. Add shrimp and cook 2–3 minutes until pink and curled. Mix in reserved meat from mirlitons and chop large pieces while cooking. Cook 20 minutes, stirring until flavors develop. After most of liquid has evaporated, remove from heat and season with salt, pepper, hot sauce and parsley. Fold in crabmeat, being careful to not break lumps. Sprinkle in 1½ cups of bread crumbs to absorb any excess liquid and to hold stuffing intact. Stuff mixture into hollowed-out shells.


Place stuffed mirlitons on baking pan, sprinkle with remaining bread crumbs and top each with 1 pat of butter. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve 1 mirliton half as a vegetable or 2 halves as an entrée. Delish!