Here is a newly discovered food I think I'll love once
I find a good recipe... When I checked out at the market recently, they
had run out of credit notes to give in place of change. I quickly
scanned the vegetables for something worth less than a dollar. Here is
the result:
Meet a vegetable with a hundred names. Known as shu-shu or chow-chow (both pronounced shoo-shoo), to our country, the rest of the world knows this vegetable as xuxu, pear squash, cho-cho, mirliton, merleton, christophene, vegetable pear, centinarja, chouchoute, choko, pipinola, guisquil, or most commonly, chayote.
Like so many unique locally grown produce here, I have found once again that the origin of this veggie is actually Latin America. Shu-shu is a relative of melons, cucumber, and squash. The entire vegetable can be eaten, most often cooked. It can also be baked, mashed, boiled, fried, raw, or pickled. Technically considered a fruit, shu-shu is famous for growing abundantly and being rich in vitamin C and amino acids. Its unimposing flavor gives it little commercial value, but its willingness to grow means it can be found on many a family farm here in Africa.
We eat the whole thing, dark center and all.
(Odd shapes because I have cut some bad parts out.)
Here our shu-shu is stir fried until wilty but slightly crispy. Name aside, it is a very easy veggie. Jonas cannot hear the words without bursting into giggles.