Chayote Chopped Salad

Inspired by my dad, who whipped up a chopped salad with chayote last summer. Before that, I'd never thought to eat it raw before; I've always boiled or broiled it.

The prep time is long but worth it. This has fast become one of the most popular things I make. Same-size veggies are key to chopped salad, so go ahead and get anal-retentive. If you're not feeding 4 or more people, keep the dressing on the side. Use a salad spinna to remove any excess water from your veggies; the undressed salad will keep for a few days in the fridge without anything getting soggy. White cheddar is far from Mexican, but I think it works best here.

Chayote Chopped Salad
© 2010 by Alexis McKinnis
Yields: 6 starter salads, 4 as a light meal

Salad
1 head iceberg or romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 chayote, cored and diced
1/4 cup scallions (1 bunch sans tops), chopped
1/2 cup radishes, diced
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
3/4 cup white cheddar, diced

Lime Dressing
1 large-ish lime
Scant 1/4 cup sunflower oil (or other light salad oil)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl, tossing to combine. Juice lime into a clear liquid measuring cup, noting how much juice comes out (kitchen trials indicate it should be just shy of 1/4 cup). Add an equal amount of oil to lime juice. Whisk in salt and sugar. Dress salad and serve.

Comments

[Christopher]

I had something similar in Mexico last week. Very good. i had never had chayote any other way but boiled. It was pretty darn good!

Your recipe asks for 1 chayote, cored and diced. Do you peel it as well?

I'll be adding chayote to my shopping list for 4th of July weekend!

Thanks!

[Alexis]

I don't peel the chayotes here, since the ones most readily available are the smooth-fleshed chayotes as opposed to the spiny-fleshed ones. The skin is very soft, raw or cooked. Softer than an apple.

[NewZealand Pandora]

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