Roasted Mirliton, Zucchini and Tomatoes with Couscous

Ah…those vegetables. I always appreciate a chef who adds a creative touch to his menu by serving fresh vegetables in unique ways. Recently, we celebrated a special dinner and our anniversary at a fine restaurant in town, “Stab’s Prime Steak and Seafood.” Rather than the typical medley of fresh steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, the chef devised a vegetable combination which included roasted mirliton and squash, with blistered cherry tomatoes. It was delicious and added a flavorful touch to the meal. I’ve had a similar recipe filed away to make sometime. My recipe has a “twist” — as couscous is also an ingredient in the mixture. I decided to make this simple little vegetable medley at home for another special meal.

Unique Recipe Ingredients: Mirliton and Couscous

My recipe contains two interesting ingredients which I don’t often use: mirliton and couscous. I had to do a little research on each to get the most out of my recipe.

What is a Mirliton?

Mirliton, or chayote squash or vegetable pear, is native to southern Louisiana as well as Mexico and Central America. The squash is in the gourd family and grows on climbing vines with the fruit hanging down. It ripens in autumn making it plentiful around holiday time. Perfect for holiday casseroles and buffet spreads. The squash has a very mild in flavor so it blends well with other ingredients. The squash is pale green; about the size of a pear with odd indentations at the blossom end. The texture is firm — like a pear. It has less moisture than summer squash, such as zucchini, but is not as hard as winter squash such as acorn squash. The squash must be cooked in some manner; not served raw. These mirlitons were imported from Mexico. At Rouses grocery market, they were $.20/piece — quite inexpensive.

There is one large seed in the center which is easy to remove. You don’t have to peel these squash as the outside peel is not tough.

What is Couscous?

Couscous is a type of pasta which is a staple food in the diets of North Africa, the Mediterranean region and Middle Eastern cuisines. Couscous resembles a grain such as rice or quinoa — but it is not a plant food or seed. The tiny pieces of pasta are made from semolina flour (ground durum wheat). The coarsely-ground semolina flour is moistened and tossed until small granules of pasta dough are formed. After drying for several hours, the pasta is prepared by adding it to boiling water and letting it steam. Most couscous is sold in this country is pre-cooked and dried, hence is labelled as “instant” or “quick-cooking,” making it quick and easy to cook. Pearl couscous is not pre-cooked and takes much longer to cook.

 Vegetable Medley Recipe

I have had good intentions of featuring this recipe for several years now. The inspiration comes from the vegetarian and vegan food blog: CookEatLiveLove. It is somewhat comparable to the side dish from the restaurant as both featured roasted squash and tomatoes. (The restaurant dish added mirlitons and the blog recipe added couscous.) My husband recently purchased some good looking zucchini which I needed to use — another incentive for making this dish. I made quite a few adaptations to the blogger’s recipe.

Here are the ingredients for my recipe:

At the last minute, I sprinkled on balsamic vinegar and olive oil when the dish was finished. I like those flavor sparks — vinegar combined with squash.

The main vegetable players are zucchini, mirliton and cherry tomatoes. The minor accents are slivers of red onion and lots of garlic. Plus, I added a sorry looking jalapeno pepper (which was still in my refrigerator) in place of red bell pepper. I sprinkled on sliced of green onion — as I like this flavor “pop.” I used dried basil since the fresh basil in my garden met demise during the recent freeze. But, if you have fresh basil, that would be great.

Remember the hydroponic garden which we planted in April in Houston? It has lots of fresh, vibrant basil still going strong. Ah, we all need an hydroponic garden somewhere inside our house.

Making the recipe

To make this recipe, get everything diced and sliced and ready to go. I cut the zucchini and mirliton into cubes which are about 1/2″ in size. I cut the red onion and jalapeño peppers (or you could use red bell pepper) into slivers. I left the tomatoes whole. The garlic is minced and green onions are sliced.

In this preparation, the vegetables are roasted. In one bowl, toss the zucchini and mirliton cubes, garlic, red onions and jalapeño peppers in olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and dried basil. Add the tomatoes to a second bowl; add olive oil, seasonings and toss. (I saved out a few fresh tomatoes for garnish.) Spread the squash mixture in a single layer onto a baking sheet. Roast in a 425 degree oven for 10 minutes. Push to one side. Add the tomatoes onto the second side.

Continue to roast for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. The goal is to get the squash and mirliton cooked about the same time as the tomatoes just start to blister. Hopefully, the squash will be cooked to the “al la dente” stage. Don’t overcook this mixture.

Transfer everything to a clean bowl, and gently toss to combine. Some of the tomatoes exploded. But the juice from the tomatoes helped provide flavor to the dish.

Meanwhile, cook the couscous. Boil 1/2 cup water. Remove from stove and add the dry couscous; stir in. Let the mixture steam — off the stove — for 5 minutes. The couscous will absorb the liquid and puff up.

Very gently, stir the couscous into the vegetable medley. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

I sprinkled on a bit of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Then, I transferred to a serving bowl.

Garnish with green onions, reserved fresh tomatoes and fresh basil. Serve. Ah, I do have a little basil — it is flowering — still growing in my garden.

This makes a great way to serve vegetables. And, this preparation is easy to prepare plus tasty. We all need to eat a healthy diet over the holidays. Trying new vegetables — such as mirliton — is one way to do this. Enjoy the unique flavors of Louisiana. I believe that mirlitons must be one of our best kept secrets.