This is a sponsored post on behalf of Tabasco. I also received a delivery of fresh chayotes from Melissa’s Produce to facilitate this recipe. All opinions and recipe are 100% my own.
If there is one vegetable that reminds me of home, it has got to be a hearty chayote. This vegetable is so versatile, it can be served cooked and chopped, pureed, grilled, and my favorite, stuffed.
Low in calories and packed with fiber and anti-oxidants, there is no reason why I shouldn’t be including it in my meals. It’s great!
Chayotes have a consistency that falls between a pear and a zucchini. Its taste is a bit on the bland side but that’s what I love about it because I can dress it up any which way I want.
This weekend, we went for a spicy chayote that included stewed meat with vegetables and rice. My spicy sauce of choice for this dish? Tabasco’s Garlic Pepper Sauce. , made of only red pepper, distilled vinegar, water, salt and garlic. It was the perfect ingredient to add delicious flavor to my beef stew; so garlicky and spicy. To balance out the heat of the dish, I sprinkled queso fresco on top of each stuffed chayote to tame down the heat with a bit of creaminess.
My husband loved this dish so much, he has requested for it to be on the Father’s Day menu this year.
Chayotes can be found year-round in your local grocery store or can be ordered online from Melissa’s Produce.
Ingredients
- 4 chayotes, washed and sliced in half (I used chayotes from Melissa's Produce)
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 lb bottom round roast or your favorite stew meat, sliced in small bite-size pieces
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 1½ teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
- 2 teaspoons Tabasco Garlic Pepper Sauce
- 1/2 cup long-grain rice, rinsed
- 1/2 cup queso fresco, crumbled
Instructions
- Fill a medium stockpot with 8 cups water, place chayote halves and let boil over medium heat for 30 minutes. Drain and set chayotes to the side to cool. When they are cool enough to handle, remove flesh with melon baller. Reserve flesh. Place hollowed out chayotes in an oven safe dish.
- In a 3-quart stew pot, heat canola oil over low-medium heat and add pieces of meat. Cook for approximately 5 minutes. Add onion and continue cooking until onion is translucent. Add tomatoes, stirring frequently. Add tomato sauce and 1 cup of water, rice, Tabasco sauce, chicken bouillon and left over chayote flesh. Stir, cover and lower heat. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until rice is tender.
- Preheat oven to 300° F.
- Spoon spicy meat mixture on hollowed out chayotes, sprinkle crumbled and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts.
- Serve with corn tortillas.