Spicy cream of chayote squash soup

Once in a while I like to cook something with some nice heat! Mexican cuisine is known for its exotic flavors and, of course, SPICE- this recipe gives you a nice creamy soup with a jalapeño kick!

Hi everyone! Shani dishing here… I’m really excited to share this one with you 🙂

This soup was inspired by a soup I ordered from the specials menu at the restaurant Fonda in Parks Slope, Brooklyn, which I recreated with this recipe. If you haven’t been there yet, I highly recommend you check it out: http://fondarestaurant.com/

First, allow me to introduce you to the Chayote Squash:

The chayote, which originates in Mexico (and is believed to date back to the Aztecs) is actually a fruit that is in the same family as melons, cucumbers, and gourds. It is light green in color, and shaped like a bulky pear. Its inside texture is semi-crisp. It is considered a sponge-like fruit/veggie that takes on the flavors that you combine with it. It can be eaten raw or cooked/fried. (click here to read more about chayotes)

Here we go!

Materials:

2 quarts of water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, cubed

2-3 cloves of garlic

4 Chayote Squashes, peeled, pits removed, and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 large potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 Jalapeno, seeds and stem removed

3 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons ground pepper

2 teaspoons hot paprika

1 package/8 oz. mushrooms (I used white button mushroom, but you can choose any), finely diced

1 pint heavy cream

2 radishes, thinly sliced (optional garnish)

A few pieces of cilantro (optional garnish)

Method:

In a large soup pot, saute the onion and garlic in your oil- stir occasionally, until golden

When onions and garlic are golden, add in your water, chayotes, potato, jalapeno, salt, pepper, & paprika

Reduce to medium heat, and cover. Allow this to cook for about 30-45 minutes, or until you could easily pierce the chayotes and potatoes with a fork (ie: soft enough to blend with hand blender or regular blender)

Once veggies are soft enough to be blended, turn off the fire, and remove pot from that burner

Option one: HAND BLENDER… If you have a hand blender, your life will be much easier right now- you will simply plug in your hand blender and blend away. *WARNING*: Be careful not to lift the hand blender out of liquid, as the burning liquid will splash you!! Just keep circling the pot until you feel there are no more chunks (some may opt to leave it more chunky- whatever floats your boat!)

Option two: REGULAR BLENDER… If you do not have a hand blender, you can ladel a little bit of soup at a time into your blender, and blend that way. Keep in mind that the entire pot will not fit into the blender at the same time, so you will have to do it in separate portions, and then put it back into the pot.

Once you are done blending the soup, put it back onto a low flame.

Add in the heavy cream and diced mushrooms into the pot, stir together, and cook for an additional 20 minutes.

Pour into soup bowls, garnish with some radish and cilantro, and you have yourself a creamy bowl of spicy chayote soup. Enjoy!!!