Baked beef chorizo stuffed chayote squash with manchego cheese and cumin tomato sauce!
Modern Mexican cuisine has become a popular trend in recent years. Las Vegas has a few modern gourmet Mexican restaurants that offer creative cuisine with very nice presentations. I have yet to do a restaurant review at one of those restaurants, because I create a lot of Modern Mexican entrees for this blog, so my cravings are satisfied by dining at home. I suppose that I am overdue to write a restaurant review article about a Las Vegas restaurant that offers modern presentations of gourmet Mexican cuisine. Many visitors and locals are unaware that this style of cuisine is an option in Las Vegas. About a year ago, a local food writer published an article about modern creative cuisine that was being served at a restaurant downtown and that caught my attention. The photographs of the modern Mexican cuisine entrees at that restaurant looked great! Today's stuffed chayote recipe is a good example of a modern Mexican cuisine presentation. Everything is compact and neatly centered on the plate. There is height and color. The bottom half of the chayote forms a natural cup shape to hold the stuffing. A nice Spanish manchego cheese is a gourmet item in its own right. Beef chorizo sausage appeals to a broader range of people than pork chorizo. The sauce is painted on the plate and the garnishes are functional. Why simply bake a whole casserole dish of stuffed chayote in sauce, when you can create your own modern Mexican fine dining presentation of the same food? Eye appeal is important, even when eating a meal at home! Chayote Preparation: Select a chayote squash that has a round bowl shaped bottom half. Cut the tip off of the bottom of the chayote, so is will sit evenly. Cut the top part of the chayote off and save it for another recipe. Scoop any seeds or loose pulp out of the center of the chayote with a small spoon and discard them. Use a melon baller tool to carve the inside of the chayote half, so resembles a small bowl. The rim and bowl should be about 1/4" thick. Note: Save the chayote meat that is carved out of the chayote bowl for later in the recipe! Bring a sauce pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Blanch the chayote bowl in the hot water for 1 minute. Cool the chayote bowl under cold running water. Set the chayote bowl aside.
Salsa de tomate comino: Tomato paste can be used to make rich flavored thin tomato sauces. Tomato paste is traditionally made by allowing tomatoes to cook and dry in the heat of sunlight. Heat a small sauce pot over medium low heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add 3 ounces of tomato paste. Gently stir and saute, till the tomato paste starts to lightly brown in the pan. Add 1 cup of vegetable stock. Add sea salt and white pepper. Add 1 pinch of onion powder. Add 1 small pinch of garlic powder. Add 1 pinches of Spanish paprika. Add 2 pinches of cumin. Reduce the temperature to low heat. Simmer and reduce the sauce, till it becomes a thin tomato sauce consistency. Keep the cumin tomato sauce warm over very low heat, or reheat the sauce when the stuffed chayote finishes baking.
Chorizo chayote relleno con queso manchego: No seasoning or chile pepper powder is needed in this recipe. The beef chorizo is loaded with good Spanish paprika flavor! Finely chop the reserved chayote meat that was scooped out of the chayote bowl. Heat a saute pan over medium/medium low heat. Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. Add 1 minced garlic clove. Add 1 tablespoon of minced onion. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of diced green bell pepper. Add the chopped chayote meat. Gently saute, till the vegetables become tender and till the onions turn clear in color. Add about 3 ounces of uncased fine ground beef chorizo sausage. (The amount of beef chorizo depends on the size of the chayote bowl!) Saute and stir, till the sausage becomes cooked, but not browned. Remove the pan from the heat. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of fine plain bread crumbs. Add 1/2 tablespoon of water. Add 2 pinches of chopped cilantro. Stir the ingredients together. Allow the stuffing mixture to cool. Mound the beef chorizo stuffing in the blanched chayote squash bowl. Try to make the stuffing look smooth and uniform on the surface. Sprinkle a thin coating of fine plain breadcrumbs over the stuffing. Place the stuffed chayote on a baking pan. Baked the stuffed chayote in a 325 degree oven, till it becomes piping hot and the beef chorizo stuffing becomes very lightly browned. Remove the pan from the oven. Drizzle a few drops of virgin olive oil over the stuffing. Place a few pinches of grated manchego cheese on to of the stuffing. Return the pan to the 325 degree oven. Bake until the cheese melts. Allow the hot stuffed chayote to rest, till it becomes a safe serving temperature. (About 1 or 2 minutes.)
Chorizo chayote relleno con queso manchego y salsa de tomate comino: Paint the salsa de tomate comino on the center of a plate as a bed for the stuffed chayote. Paint the sauce sauce on the plate with a spoon, so it looks nice! Use a spatula to place the chorizo chayote relleno on the sauce. Garnish the chorizo chayote relleno with thin bias sliced green onion. Garnish the plate with a cilantro sprig or Italian parsley sprig.
Viola! A very nice tasting beef chorizo stuffed chayote squash with a modern Mexican style presentation that is not difficult to master. Blanching the chayote squash bowl helps the chayote to retain its bright lime green color. Yum! ... Shawna
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