Guisquil Criollo, Guisquil Negro, and Perulero AKA Chayote Squash

  We have Chayote in California.  The kind I’m used to seeing is medium to large in size and light green in color.  I’m not sure why, but I never got around to cooking with it in Oakland.  Here in El Salvador, there are at least three different kinds of Chayote.  The dark green kind is called Guisquil Negro and sometimes has little “whiskers” on the bottom that are sharp and pointy.  The medium green kind is called Guisquil Criollo and is the most familiar looking to me.  The very light green, almost white, and smaller kind is called Perulero.  This vegetable has been cultivated since the Mayan times and it was about time I tried it.

  I was introduced to Guisquil at Mercado Merliot where we ate “rellenos de guisquil”, stuffed with cheese and then fried in eggs and served with tomato sauce.  So good!  I have yet to try making it at home.  What I have tried is dicing it into cubes and adding it to soups or pasta.  More recently, I tried stuffing and baking it.  After steaming the halves, I scooped out the seed, and then scooped out the inside, leaving the skin.  I cut the inside into small cubes, mixed it with cheese, tomatoes, and cooked bulghur wheat (yes, we can get that here!).  I put the filling in each half and finished with a shaving of parmesan on top (yes, that too!).  Then I baked them in the oven for about 30 minutes.  Delicious and easy, the recipe may make its way back to Oakland.

  Cocina Costariccense has 22 entries about Chayote, filled with different recipes and photos.  It’s in Spanish and is quite inspiring.  Cocina Costariccense tiene 22 entradas sobre Chayote.  Esta lleno de recetas y fotos bellas.  Cocina Costariccense Recetas de Chayote