This Chayote squash recipe is great for seafood and gluten-free (no carbs) dinner parties, it can be served cold or warm. The creamy texture of the chayote creates a smooth mousse which is flavoured with seafood and its sweetness contrasted by the bitterness of the Cime di Rapa. This recipe is from my uncle Nicola Zerbi and to make the dish more festive, I substitute Cime di Rapa with edible flowers Begonia.
Chayote squash sounds exotic but it is grown locally and is widely available in Mediterranean countries. It was introduced to Europe after the discovery of America and has very well adapted to the local climate. It is very easy to grow, like a squash, but it requires a lot of water. I guess this is why it is so expensive to buy.
The chayote squash, called Chocho in the Caribbean and Coko in Australia and New Zeland, is also known as Mirliton Squash. It might look unusual but you should not be intimidated. It is just a variety of zucchini and you can cook it the same way.
It has only one big seed in the centre and its pulp is very sticky, like zucchini but a crunchier and stickier pulp. That is why when you boil it and blend it, it makes a wonderful foamy soup.
Therefore, this recipe does not need any carbs to thicken the soup, it is carb-free and low calorie.
Cahoyte and seafood
Cahoyte has a peculiar characteristic, it is totally tasteless and is, therefore, a great base for delicate soups like this one.
This soup is made with a delicate fish fumet blended with mussel juice, the creaminess of the chayote and the sweet flavour of the seafood is balanced by the bitterness of the Cime di Rapa or edible flowers Begonia.
Chayote is so smooth and creamy that there is no need to add potatoes or beans. This soup has no carbs and since chayote is a squash, it is also very low on calories.
You can use chayote squash as a base for any no-carb soup you want to make!
What are Cime di Rapa
Cime di Rapa node, also called Rapini is commonly marketed in the United States as broccoli raab/rabe. They are very specific Italian vegetables and they are not easy to find, not even on the French border with Italy.
They look like little broccoli but have a bitter taste. In Italy, they are served stir-fried with garlic, often with Orecchiette pasta.
We Italians cook them like broccoli and we don’t remove their bitter taste as this is what we like about them.
Making this Chayote squash recipe
To make this recipe you will need to prepare the following ingredients:
Fish fumet
Mussels and their juices
Chayote mousse
So first let’s get started with the fish fumet
Making the fish fumet
As I mentioned earlier, the Chayote has a very bland flavour, so what really makes the flavour of this soup is the fish fumet.
The difference between a general stock and a fumet is that the main ingredient is first roasted or stir-fried. The flavour of the fumet is more intense than a general stock, and in this recipe works perfectly.
If you want to take a short cut you can use fish stock or buy it at the store.
To make the fumet you can buy a small fish, here I use gurnards. Don’t worry about the fish bones, we will just use the stock, not the meat from the fish.
Keep strictly to the cooking time, seafood should never be overcooked as it will get tough and develop a bitter flavour.
You can make the fumet ahead of time and either keep in the fridge for 1 day or freeze it.
Ingredients
1 small fish to make the fumet
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
1 onion
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cups dry white wine
First, we roast the fish in the oven
Put the gurnard in a small roasting pan with salt and pepper.
Add 1 cup of white wine and 4 cherry tomatoes cut into pieces.
Put the fish in a hot oven at 180 C for 20 minutes.
In the meantime, stir fry a small onion and 3 chopped cherry tomatoes in a large pan to make the fish stock.
Once the gurnard is done transfer it in the stock pan and add 1 spoon of concentrated tomato sauce (optional).
To keep all the flavors of the roasting fish, pour some water in the roasting pan to deglaze it.
Pour the water over the fish and add ½ cup of white wine.
Let it simmer for 20 minutes.
Strain the fumet with a paper cloth and let it cool off completely.
Preparing the mussels
How to choose and cook fresh mussels
Mussels are delicious when fresh, but they can be a dangerous source of seafood poisoning if not chosen correctly.
Buy them only at your trusted fishmonger and ask them to clean them as they are a pain in the neck to clean. They are often full of barnacles and if you are lucky your fingers will be sore but not bleeding.
Personally I always try to avoid them during the hot season, neither buying them or ordering them at restaurants. The heat makes seafood more susceptible to attract bacteria.
Fresh mussels should be cooked alive, once dead they will be infected.
Here is how to make sure fresh mussels are alive:
Fresh mussels should always be closed and cannot be open no matter how hard you try
Discharge any open or broken mussels
Rinse them under running water one by one and throw away any open or broken mussels
If they are open but when you touch them they close and will not open if you try, they are fine to eat.
How to cook the fresh mussels
In this recipe, I make 1 lb – 500 gr of mussels as they sell them in such quantity, but you only need a small amount. I would usually freeze the leftover juice and use the fresh mussels in another recipe.
In this occasion, I used them to make my next soup with edible flowers challenge: a seafood chowder.
Fresh mussels are naturally salted, you do not need to add any salt
The ingredients are:
1 lb – 500 gr of fresh mussels
1 clove of garlic
1 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
This is how to proceed:
In a frying pan, stir fry 1 sliced clove of garlic.
Put in the mussels and stir fry covered until they are all open.
Stir from times to times
Add 1 cup of white wine and let it simmer for 1 minute until it evaporates
When they are ready, remove the mussels
but keep the water.
Important points when cooking the mussels
Fresh mussels are naturally salted, you do not need to add any salt
When cooking the mussels, keep the pan covered and turn them every once in a while to make sure they will all open
Once open the mussels are cooked
Do not overcook the mussels, 2 to 3 minutes are enough.
If some mussels are still not open remove the opened one and cook only the closed ones.
Any mussels that remain closed even after cooking them should be discarded
Remove any broken open mussels after you have cooked them, but do not worry if you find some once you finished cooking them. The rest of the mussels will not be infected.
Strain the water through a paper cloth and let it rest so that any residual of sand will fall at the bottom.
Clean the mussels and put them aside.
Cooking the chayote squash
Peel the chayotes
Remove the central seed and cut them in small cubes.
Boil the chayote with 1 tsp of salt for 20 minutes.
Once the Chayote is cooked, drain it and transfer it in a bowl to cool completely.
If you are using cime di rapa
Clean and boil the Cime di Rapa for 10 minutes in a separate pan with a tsp of salt.
When done, drain them and put them in iced water to preserve their nice green colour.
Putting together the mussels and the mousse
Once all the main components are ready, we can put it all together. We need to mix the fish fumet, the water from the mussels and the Chayote to make the mousse. It is important to mix the right quantity to balance taste and consistency.
To start, add ½ cup of mussels water and 1/3 of fish fumet to the Chayote and blend.
Taste and add more fish fumet or mussels water accordingly until you reach your desired taste and texture.
Serving the mussels mousse
Once the mousse is ready, just pour it into the dishes and decorate with a few mussels and cime di rapa or Begonia edible flowers.
Drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil and pepper.
This soup is best served cold but it can also be served warm. When eating the sweetness of the mussel will be balanced by the acidity of the Cime di Rapa or the Begonia, all softly bounded by the Chayote mousse.
It is the perfect starter for a fancy no carbs, low calories dinner!
As main you can serve:
Whole Sea Bream Recipe Cooked in Salt
When the fish is fresh cook it in Salt, it retains the freshness of the sea and it is simple to do and presents well. A perfect combination to impress your guests at a dinner party, and you would not believe how simple it is to do! #yourguardianchef #fishrecipe #food
Trout in a parcel with lemon and parsley served with basmati rice
This trout recipe is very easy to make, and very low on calories. I used to make it quite frequently when I wanted something light and delicious to eat. #yourguardianchef #seafood #fish
Chayote is just a zucchini squash with one big seed in the centre. You can substitute it with other zucchini but you may not get the same consistency of the mousse
The chayote has needles in their skin, make sure they have been removed before you touch them. They usually do this at the supermarket
You can easily grow chayote in a climate similar to the Mediterranean, but they need a lot of water
You can use chayote squash as a base for any no-carb soup you want to make!
Tips for the fish fumet
The difference between a general stock and a fumet is that the main ingredient is first roasted or stir-fried. The flavour of the fumet is more intense than a general stock, and in this recipe works perfectly.
If you want to take a short cut you can use fish stock.
To make the fumet you can buy a small fish, here I use gurnards. Don’t worry about the fish bones, we will just use the stock, not the meat from the fish.
Keep strictly to the cooking time, seafood should never be overcooked as it will get tough and develop a bitter flavour.
You can make the fumet ahead of time and either keep in the fridge for 1 day or freeze it.
Tips for the mussels
Mussels can be a dangerous source of seafood poisoning if not chosen correctly.
Buy them only at your trusted fishmonger and ask them to clean them
Try to avoid them during the hot season
Fresh mussels should be cooked alive, once dead they will be infected.
Here is how to make sure fresh mussels are alive:
Fresh mussels should always be closed and cannot be open no matter how hard you try
Discharge any open or broken mussels
Rinse them under running water one by one and throw away any open or broken mussels
If they are open but when you touch them they close and will not open if you try, they are fine to eat.
Fresh mussels are naturally salted, you do not need to add any salt
When cooking the mussels, keep the pan covered and turn them every once in a while to make sure they will all open
Once open the mussels are cooked
Do not overcook the mussels, 2 to 3 minutes are enough. If some mussels are still not open remove the opened one and cook only the closed ones.
Any mussels that remain closed even after cooking it should be discharged
Remove any broken open mussels after you have cooked them, but do not worry if you find some once you finished cooking them. The rest of the mussels will not be infected.
Tips for putting it all together
The water from the mussels is naturally salted. Taste and add more fish fumet or mussels water accordingly until you reach your desired taste and texture
Substituting Cime di Rapa with edible flowers Begonia
I had the opportunity to discover 4 edible flowers during a demonstration at the Escoffier centre in Villeneuve Loubet organized by ALCOTRA: the project Antea, a French-Italian cooperation to develop and promote innovative technologies for the farming of edible flowers in the French and Italian riviera.
Edible flowers are a wonderful decoration to use for a festive dinner party. Not only they add colour to a special dish but also a unique taste.
They are very versatile and you can use them in many ways, but personally, I prefer using them raw. Cooking edible flowers ruins their beauty, and it is their fresh colourful look that brings joy to a dish.
I like to use them in salads or soup, but it is very important to choose the right combination of flavours. Some flowers have a garlicky or peppery flavour and will only go with savoury dishes, while others have a more acidic flavour and can be combined with sweet dishes as well.
I was asked to come up with a recipe for 4 different edible flowers and decided to use them in soups to celebrate the arrival of the Autumn season. This is the third post of the series.
I decided to use this soup and substitute Cime di Rapa with Begonia which also has a bitter/acid taste.
Edible flowers Begonia
The intense red colour and the beautiful shape of the Begonia give such a festive look to this smooth mousse. They are the perfect combination of colour as well as taste.
The Begonia has an acid taste which breaks the sweetness of the chayote and the seafood. It is so elegant floating on this light green foam, like a water lily.
What else can you do with Begonia
It is up to your imagination, I recommend using them raw for decorating your final dishes. You can add them to any recipe you want to contrast with acidity.
They could be used on desserts, to decorate a creamy cake or a sweet Pavlova and add some contrast to their taste.
Where can you buy edible flowers?
Unfortunately, edible flowers are not yet available in all supermarkets and mostly you will find them in shops that serve professionals chefs, like Metro in France and Italy. Unfortunately, you can only buy in these shops if you have a business licence.
Although edible flowers are slowly appearing in Supermarkets, they are still a novelty. In France, you might find them in some Grand Frais supermarket and I was told that Whole Foods Market has them in the USA.
I am looking for more information, so if you know where to find edible flowers near you, please share the information with a comment below. Thank you for helping!
NT: Only use edible flowers that are grown to be eaten. Flowers grown for decoration may have been treated with dangerous chemicals
Here are the edible flowers I am featuring in my posts:
A typical Mediterranean dish: Fried Zucchini Flowers or Squash blossom in English, and in France they are called Beignets de Fleurs de Courgette. You can find different recipes for the batter as well as the filling, I use a simple batter flavoured with saffron and fill them with mozzarella and ham. #yourguardianchef #flowers #Italianfood #starters
This Italian zucchini frittata is made not only with the zucchini but also with its flowers. Flavoured with mozzarella and parmesan you can serve them as Frittata appetizers or with a salad for a Summer lunch.
Acacia fritters recipe is perfect for celebrating mother's day, the edible acacia flowers blossom right at the beginning of May. Just in time for the celebration. #yourguardianchef #edibleflower #frenchdessert
This roast pumpkin soup is what you need for a special celebration, the soup is full of flavours with garlic and thyme and to make it festive it is served inside the pumpkin and top it with garlicky edible flowers Capucines.
This is a nice fresh tomato soup you can make when you have too many tomatoes and you don't know what to do. Salmorejo is very similar to Gazpacho but made only with tomatoes.
This seafood chowder recipe is a reproduction of the chowder I discovered on my first trip to Ireland, creamy and packed with large chunks of seafood. Mussels, cod and salmon chowder to eat in a bread bowl or with a nice slice of Irish brown bread.
If you are making the Chayote Squash Mousse with Musselswith Edible Flowers, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.
Best served cold. When eating the sweetness of the mussel will be balanced by the acidity of the Cime di Rapa, all softly bounded by the Chayote mousse.
Put the gurnard in a small roasting pan with salt and pepper.
Add 1 cup of white wine and 4 cherry tomatoes cut into pieces.
Put the fish in a hot oven at 180 C for 20 minutes.
In the meantime, stir fry a small onion and 3 chopped cherry tomatoes in a large pan to make the fish stock.
Once the gurnard is done transfer it in the stock pan and add 1 spoon of concentrated tomato sauce.
To keep all the flavors of the roasting fish, pour some water in the roasting pan to deglaze it.
Pour the water over the fish and add ½ cup of white wine.
Let it simmer for 20 minutes.
Strain the fumet with a paper cloth and let it cool off completely.
Mousse
In the meantime peel the Chayotes and cut them in small cubes.
Boil the chayote with 1 tsp of salt for 20 minutes.
Once the Chayote is cooked, drain it and transfer it in a bowl to cool completely.
If you are using cime di rapa
Clean and boil the Cime di Rapa for 10 minutes in a separate pan with a tsp of salt.
When done, drain them and put them in iced water to preserve their nice green colour.
Prepare the mussels
In a frying pan, stir fry 1 sliced clove of garlic.
Put in the mussels and stir fry covered until they are all open.
Stir from times to times
Add 1 cup of white wine and let it simmer for 1 minute until it evaporates
When they are ready, remove the mussel but keep the water.
Strain the water through a paper cloth and let it rest so that any residual of sand will fall at the bottom.
The water from the mussels is naturally salted and will be used instead of salt to season the Chayote mousse.
Clean the mussels and put them aside.
Creating a balanced flavour
Now mix the fish fumet, the water from the mussels and the Chayote to make the mousse. It is important to mix the right quantity to balance taste and consistency.
To start add ½ cup of mussels water and 1/3 of fish fumet to the Chayote and blend.
Taste and add more fish fumet or mussels water accordingly until you reach the desired taste and texture.
Pour the mousse in the serving bowl and add 4 mussels and 4 Cime di Rapa per plate to garnish.
Chayote is just a zucchini squash with one big seed in the centre. You can substitute it with other zucchini but you may not get the same consistency of the mousse
The chayote has needles in their skin, make sure they have been removed before you touch them. They usually do this at the supermarket
You can easily grow chayote in a climate similar to the Mediterranean, but they need a lot of water
You can use chayote squash as a base for any no-carb soup you want to make!
Tips for the fish fumet
The difference between a general stock and a fumet is that the main ingredient is first roasted or stir-fried. The flavour of the fumet is more intense than a general stock, and in this recipe works perfectly.
If you want to take a short cut you can use fish stock.
To make the fumet you can buy a small fish, here I use gurnards. Don't worry about the fish bones, we will just use the stock, not the meat from the fish.
Keep strictly to the cooking time, seafood should never be overcooked as it will get tough and develop a bitter flavour.
You can make the fumet ahead of time and either keep in the fridge for 1 day or freeze it.
Tips for the mussels
Mussels can be a dangerous source of seafood poisoning if not chosen correctly.
Buy them only at your trusted fishmonger and ask them to clean them
Try to avoid them during the hot season
Fresh mussels should be cooked alive, once dead they will be infected.
Here is how to make sure fresh mussels are alive:
Fresh mussels should always be closed and cannot be open no matter how hard you try
Discharge any open or broken mussels
Rinse them under running water one by one and throw away any open or broken mussels
If they are open but when you touch them they close and will not open if you try, they are fine to eat.
Fresh mussels are naturally salted, you do not need to add any salt
When cooking the mussels, keep the pan covered and turn them every once in a while to make sure they will all open
Once open the mussels are cooked
Do not overcook the mussels, 2 to 3 minutes are enough. If some mussels are still not open remove the opened one and cook only the closed ones.
Any mussels that remain closed even after cooking it should be discharged
Remove any broken open mussels after you have cooked them, but do not worry if you find some once you finished cooking them. The rest of the mussels will not be infected.
Tips for putting it all together
The water from the mussels is naturally salted. Taste and add more fish fumet or mussels water accordingly until you reach your desired taste and texture
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Chayote Squash Mousse with Mussels
Amount Per Serving
Calories 185Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Cholesterol 16mg5%
Sodium 208mg9%
Potassium 515mg15%
Carbohydrates 14g5%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 8g16%
Vitamin A 245IU5%
Vitamin C 19.6mg24%
Calcium 49mg5%
Iron 3.2mg18%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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More soups with edible flowers will be coming up in the next few weeks, in the meantime, you can check:
‘Whatever-Vegetables’ soup with spicy merguez sausages
I use this recipe (if you can call it so) when I want to use the vegetables I have in the pantry. Any vegetable will do as long as you have either some potato or beans to add creaminess to the soup. The merguez will give a nice spicy flavour, so even bland vegetables will make a fantastic soup. If you want a vegetarian version use just vegetables and a vegetable broth. #yourguardianchef #soup #sausage #pasta
This roast pumpkin soup is what you need for a special celebration, the soup is full of flavours with garlic and thyme and to make it festive it is served inside the pumpkin and top it with garlicky edible flowers Capucines.
This is a nice fresh tomato soup you can make when you have too many tomatoes and you don't know what to do. Salmorejo is very similar to Gazpacho but made only with tomatoes.
This seafood chowder recipe is a reproduction of the chowder I discovered on my first trip to Ireland, creamy and packed with large chunks of seafood. Mussels, cod and salmon chowder to eat in a bread bowl or with a nice slice of Irish brown bread.
Love your recipe and how your explained the cooking process in detail. Now I know exactly how to make it and how to use Chayotes in my kitchen, which I never though of as courgettes before.
Hmm, I have to say I have not come across a chayote squash here in Spain. Actually, I had never heard or seen it before but glad I learned something new today 🙂 This dish looks delicious!
You might want to check on the exotic vegetable section at the Supermarket. Also here in France, they display amonge exotic vegetables so they can sell them at a high price but they are actually grown locally. You might find it at lower prices in a local market.
Danielle, Merci pour votre commentaire. Beaucoup de mes lecteurs qui préfèrent lire dans d’autres langues utilisent l’option Chrome pour traduire la page et cela se fait automatiquement. J’espère que cela fonctionne pour vous
Gosh, cooking for Michelin starred chefs must haven scary and incredible! These recipes look amazing and thanks for the step by steps.
thanks, it was stressful but a lot of fun too
Love your recipe and how your explained the cooking process in detail. Now I know exactly how to make it and how to use Chayotes in my kitchen, which I never though of as courgettes before.
That is a coincidence. Yes they don t look like a courgette but that is what they are
Hmm, I have to say I have not come across a chayote squash here in Spain. Actually, I had never heard or seen it before but glad I learned something new today 🙂 This dish looks delicious!
You might want to check on the exotic vegetable section at the Supermarket. Also here in France, they display amonge exotic vegetables so they can sell them at a high price but they are actually grown locally. You might find it at lower prices in a local market.
I am so glad I found this recipe. Chayote squash has been a mystery to me and have wanting to give this one a whirl. Perfect recipe, thanks!
I am glad I was able to inspire you. It is an unusual vegetable
I haven’t had this before. Looks delicious and like something I should try.
It is an amazing vegetable, very easy to use
j’aimerai bien que la recette soit en français !! je ne comprends pas l’anglais!! merci de le faire!!!
Danielle, Merci pour votre commentaire. Beaucoup de mes lecteurs qui préfèrent lire dans d’autres langues utilisent l’option Chrome pour traduire la page et cela se fait automatiquement. J’espère que cela fonctionne pour vous