Mirliton, also called Chayote, is a very popular vegetable in South Louisiana during the fall and early winter, so it’s natural to see Mirliton dishes on the holiday table. Everybody's Moma has a recipe for mirlitons, from Chalmette to North Baton Rouge and all points west! Sweet Daddy D’s simple recipe for Mirliton and Shrimp Dressing shows off the best of the region and will give your holiday table a Cajun and Creole buzz.
Sweet Daddy D's Mirliton and Shrimp Dressing
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Mirlitons, also known as chayote or vegetable pears because of their shape, are very mild in flavor and they grow well in South Louisiana soils and produce in cooler months, making them a staple of holiday dishes. In Louisiana, they are very common in backyard vegetable gardens so it’s not hard to find them at local produce stands, but both domestic and imported mirlitons (chayote) are commonly available in grocery stores everywhere in the fall and winter months.
Mirliton, the Prince of South Louisiana vegetables
Here’s What You Need
It’s Mirliton and Shrimp Dressing-so the star of the show will be mirlitons (or Chayote) and shrimp. This dish is popular in Louisiana because of the abundance of fresh Gulf shrimp, but you’ll find frozen shrimp available in grocery stores and seafood markets just about anywhere these days. This recipe works well with medium shrimp, no need to spring for the large ones.
This recipe calls for 8 mirlitons and 1 pound of medium shrimp.
Besides the Mirlitons, these vegetables make up the base:
- Yellow Onions (or any sweet onion)
- Bell Peppers
- Garlic
- Tomatoes (either fresh or canned will work)tomatoes
The rest of the ingredients:
- Bacon grease(you can substitute butter or olive oil)
- Bread for stuffing
- Chicken stock (only if necessary)
The Herb and Spice Blend
- Dried oregano, basil and thyme
- Creole seasoning
- Black pepper and kosher salt
Here's what you need
The whole thing will be cooked in a large frying pan then baked in a 9” X 13” baking dish. You’ll need a medium to large stockpot to soften the mirlitons.
These items may be helpful in putting this recipe together:
Here’s What You Do
First...you have a beer. This is a pretty simple recipe, but there is some preparation required. Sit down and have a beer and read through the recipe completely so you know what you need and what you’re going to do with it. Once you’ve done that, the angst has been eliminated! The preparation takes a little bit of time (but really not much) but once everything is prepared the dish goes together pretty quickly.
Prep the mirlitons, tomatoes and shrimp
Get a large stockpot of water boiling rapidly. To soften the mirlitons, slice them in half lengthwise and remove the seed with a spoon.
Slice the mirliton in half to remove the see
Boil the halves for about 30 minutes until they are tender when probed with a fork or a wooden skewer, then remove them to a bowl and allow them to cool. While the mirlitons are cooling, if you are using fresh tomatoes, parboil them in the same water so they are easy to peel. Slice a crosshatch over the stem of the tomatoes and lower them into the boiling water for about a minute and a half, then remove them to an ice bath for about 5 minutes. Once the tomatoes are cooled, the skin comes off easily, give them a rough chop and set aside. When the mirlitons have cooled, peel the mirlitons with a vegetable peeler or scoop them out with a spoon. Give them a rough chop and set aside. (see Hints and Tips about the skin). Rinse the shrimp and pat them dry with some paper towels. Give them a rough chop, place them in a bowl and season the shrimp with creole seasoning and set them aside.
- Rough chop the mirlitons
- Chop and season the shrimp
Prepare the rest of the ingredients
Rough chop the onion and bell pepper and place them in a bowl together. Rough chop the garlic and set it aside. Measure bacon grease, bread for stuffing and chicken stock (see Hints and Tips). Measure the Herb and Spice Blend into a small bowl.
Everything prepped
Prepare a 9” X 13” baking dish by coating with butter and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Now you are ready to go, so how’s your beer?
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Saute the vegetables
Melt the bacon grease in a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add the onions and bell peppers. Saute them for about 8 minutes until the onions start to clear. Next, add the garlic and about ½ of the Herb and Spice Blend and stir for about 2 minutes until aromatic. Mix in the chopped mirliton and stir it all together until well combined. Continuing over medium-high heat, use a potato masher or a wooden spoon to mash the larger mirliton pieces. Cook this for about 5 minutes.
- Fry the onions and peppers in the bacon grease
- Add the garlic and Herbs and Spices
- In goes the chopped mirlitons
Add the shrimp and tomatoes
Add the chopped shrimp and stir it together.
Stir in the chopped shrimp
Mix in about ½ of the remaining Herb and Spice Blend, then the chopped tomatoes.
Add the seasonings and chopped tomatoes
Combine everything completely and simmer for about another 5 minutes, at which time there should be some liquid in the pan as a result of the simmering.
Allow everthing to simmer
Add the bread pieces and stir to thoroughly combine everything. (see Hints and Tips about the liquid).
Tighten it up with the bread pieces
Remove the pan from the heat, cover it and let it sit about 10 minutes while all the liquid is absorbed and the ingredients get to know each other.
Let all the ingredients rest and absorb the flavors
Time to Bake
After the dressing has sat for 10 minutes, spoon the dressing into the 9” X 13” prepared baking dish.
Ready for the oven!
Place the baking dish in the 350-degree preheated oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until firm and golden brown on top. If it’s getting too brown, place some aluminum foil over it. Remove the Dressing from the oven and let it cool for five minutes before serving.
Hot from the oven!
That’s it, simple as that.
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Hints and Tips
- Mirliton or Chayote skin is edible, so it’s OK to get some skin mixed in with the pulp while you are scooping out or peeling them. I do try to get as much skin off as possible but after boiling for 30 minutes the skin is pretty soft so don’t worry too much about that.
- Bacon grease gives a nice depth of flavor to the dish, but if you want to shy away from that, just substitute butter or olive oil. If you’re a bacon lover and can’t get enough, fry about 3 slices and remove them once all the fat is rendered. Don’t throw them away (or eat them), just chop them up and add them back when you add the shrimp. It’s a treat!
- There should be plenty of liquid accumulated after all the vegetables have simmered, but if you add the bread and it looks very dry, just add a touch of chicken stock (or juice from canned tomatoes) but only is necessary. The Mirlitons, tomatoes and even the shrimp have high water content and its unlikely you’ll need to add more liquid.
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- Don’t hesitate to substitute canned tomatoes for fresh. When using canned tomatoes, I usually get whole, peeled tomatoes and crush them with my hand. Drain the liquid out before adding the tomatoes. The liquid could be substituted for the chicken stock, but again, ONLY if necessary.
Man this looks delicious!
Love Mirlitons? Sweet Daddy D has some other Mirliton recipes that will blow you away:
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These items may be helpful in making this recipe:
Yeah You Right!
Mirliton Shrimp Dressing
Here's What You Need
- 2 tablespoons bacon grease See notes
- 2 cups yellow onions rough chop
- 1 cup bell peppers rough chop
- 5 cloves garlic rough chop
- 4 cups chopped mirliton about 8 mirlitons
- 1 cup tomatoes peeled and chopped
- 1 pound medium shrimp chopped
- 3 cups bread for stuffing
- ½ cup chicken stock if necessary-See Notes
Herb and Spice Blend
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon basil
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- 1 tablespoon creole seasoning
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Here's What You Do
Preparation:
- Slice mirlitons in half lengthwise and remove the seed with a spoon
- Place the mirliton halves in a stockpot of boiling water and boil for about 30 minutes until the mirlitons are tender when probed with a fork.
- Remove the mirlitons to a bowl and allow them to cool.
- In the same boiling water, parboil the tomato for about 1 minute and remove to an ice bath to stop the cooking. Once cooled, remove the skin and give the tomato a rough chop
- Once the mirlitons have cooled, use a vegetable peeler to remove the mirliton skin and give it a rough chop (see Notes)
- Give the shrimp a rough chop and place them in a bowl.
- Season the shrimp with creole seasoning and set aside.
- Rough chop the onion, bell pepper and garlic.
- Measure the remaining ingredients
- Prepare a 9” X 13” baking dish by coating with butter, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Make the Dressing:
- Melt the bacon grease in a large frying pan over medium-high heat
- Add the onions and bell peppers and saute for about 8 minutes until the onions start to clear.
- Add the garlic and about ½ of the Herb and Spice Blend, stir for about 2 minutes until aromatic.
- Mix in the chopped mirliton until well combined with the other ingredients.
- Continuing over medium-high heat, use a potato masher or a wooden spoon to mash the larger pieces.
- Saute for about 5 minutes
- Add the chopped shrimp and stir it together.
- Add about ½ of the remaining Herb and Spice Blend
- Add the chopped tomatoes, stir everything together and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- At this point, there should be some liquid in the pan as a result of the simmering.
- Add the bread pieces and stir to thoroughly combine all the ingredients. (see Notes)
- Remove the pan from the heat, cover and let sit about 10 minutes.
- Pour the dressing into the 9 X 13 prepared baking dish.
- Place the baking dish in the preheated oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until firm and golden brown on top.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Kathy
Can this be frozen?
Sweet Daddy D
Yes, Kathy. If you want to make this ahead, make sure to wrap it airtight in plastic wrap with aluminum foil over that. Let it thaw out before baking or reheating. Thanks for reaching out.
Arthuryne
Can cornbread be used instead of bread?
Sweet Daddy D
Thanks for the question, Arthuryne. All I can say is probably but I have honestly never made cornbread dressing. The recipes I have researched in the past use broken pieces of cornbread, so if they are "day old" or stale, I think they would work well. The flavor profile will be a little different but I think the flavors would be fine together. Give it a try-use 3 cups of broken cornbread to start. Mix it all together and determine if you even need to add moisture before adding any stock. Let me know how it turns out.
Darrell
How many Mirlitons do you use. Don’t see I. Recipe.
Sweet Daddy D
Hey Darrell. You need at least 4 cups of chopped mirliton. I used 8 whole mirlitons to get that many cups. If you use a vegetable peeler after boiling the mirliton, you will get a very good yield. Also, if 8 gives you more than 4 cups, go ahead and use it all...how bad can that be? Thanks for reaching out.