I learned one important fact about this recipe - most people have never heard of a chayote squash, let alone cooked one! Readily available at Nob Hill or any other large supermarket, the chayote, which looks somewhat like a pear, is technically a fruit which belongs to the squash family. I have made a salad using chayote that comes from the South Beach diet cookbook for years, so I thought this recipe would be great addition to using the squash. My biggest mistake was trying to make the meal all at once after a day at work. My recommendation would be to cook the squash the night before and let it cool before attempting to assemble the recipe, if you are a working person. Otherwise, we really enjoyed this recipe. I have to agree with the panelists whio did make the recipe that the stuffing is wonderful and could be used with other squash or bell peppers.

Stuffed Chayote

3 large chayote squash (about 3/4 lb. each)

1 small green or red bell pepper

1 tablespoon salad oil

1 pound mushrooms, finely chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 and 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 pound lean ground beef

2/3 cup beef broth

1/3 cup green taco sauce

1 tablespoon corn starch

4 oz. thinly sliced Swiss cheese or Finnish lappi cheese

If chayote skin is tough (in test, pierce with your fingernail) or spiny, peel the chayotes. If the skin is tender when pierced, rinse rather than peeling.

Place chayotes in a 4-5 quart pan; cover with water and bring to boiling over high heat. Cover and simmer until chayotes are tender when pierced, 20-30 minutes. Drain. Let stand until cool enough to touch.

Cut each chayote in half lengthwise at its widest point, slicing through seed. With a knife, cut away flesh from each half, leaving a shell about 1/4 inch thick. Finely chop flesh and seed; set aside.

Quarter bell pepper; discard stem and seeds. Set aside 1 piece and finely chop the remainder. In a 10-12 inch skillet over medium-high heat combine the chopped bell pepper, oil, mushrooms, onion, thyme, basil and pepper. Stir often until liquid evaporates and mushrooms and onion are lightly browned,  12-15 minutes. Remove mixture from pan and set aside. In the same pan over high heat, crumble beef and stir often until meat is well browned, 10-15 minutes. Mix broth, taco sauce and cornstarch. Add broth mixture, mushroom mixture and chopped chayote to pan. Stir over high heat until liquid evaporates and mixture is shiny-looking. Remove from heat and add salt to taste. Set chayote shells, cup side up, in 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Mound the filling into chayote shells using all. Draped filled chayote halves with with cheese slices. Bake, uncovered, in a 375-degree oven until hot in the center about 15 minutes. Cut remaining bell pepper into slices and top each chayote half for garnish.

Panelist reviews:

This recipe was easy to prepare and makes a full 6 servings. Since I could not find the chayote I used green acorn squash that I cooked by microwaving and I used fresh frozen basil instead of dried. My husband thought it was quite good but didn’t have the “wow” factor. I thought it was very tasty and having the added ingredients made it different and better than, say, stuffed bell peppers, which he does not like. He guessed at first it was just seasoned ground beef and was surprised that it had the mushrooms and squash mixed in. I’m not real fond of cooked squash but liked this because you can’t tell it’s in there. I like the fact that it is a healthy dish with hardly any added oil and only the one slice of cheese on each half. It’s also a nice comfort food and I would make it again.

- Karen Brunner

I learned what a chayote squash is. The recipe turned out real well. It reminded me of stuffed bell peppers, but tastier. We really liked the squash and I will use it in other recipes. It has more flesh and fewer seeds. I substituted parsley and cumin for the thyme, (I don’t like thyme) and used fat free chicken stock instead of beef stock, it worked fine. The stuffing was excellent. There was some left so I added garlic and bread crumbs and stuffed a few mushrooms with it, very good!!!  The recipe was easy to make, especially once you have everything prepped and ready to go. I will probably make this one again.

- Joe Oliveira

This recipe might have been easier if the squash was a little more ripe. The meat mixture is delicious and I substituted turkey instead of beef. I would make the meat mixture again and stuff bell peppers with it.

- Pat Rocha

The next time I make this recipe I will kick it up a notch or two. I will add chopped fresh cilantro and also hot chopped crushed red pepper. Come summer time I will try it using egg plant from our garden or over-sized zucchini squash.

- Bev Perry

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