I had to go to Kaiser Thursday for a followup appointment and was happy to discover that that the local farmers market was taking place in the courtyard and very busy with packed tables of produce and customers. I thought it bit strange that the farmers market would be at the hospital but when I think about the Kaiser slogan of eat well, live well and thrive it started to make sense.
They had the usual heirloom tomatoes and seedless grapes that are in season now but there was one grower that had a few things I’ve never had a chance to try before. What I didn’t know about was chayote leaves. He told me they are the leaves from the chayote squash that can grow out of control. He said you usually stir fry them. Intrigued since it didn’t look like something you usually eat I had to try it. I brought it home and asked my mom if she could think of something to do with it. Sure enough she did. She fried it in a pan and then mixed it with a dish of brown and wild rice mixture she had along with some chared corn from Trader Joes and some basil. It was scrumptious!
The taste of the chayote leaves cooked this way has the flavor similar to an artichoke. It is a little fuzzy but nothing like raddish leaves so it’s fine when mixed in the dish. What I was surprised by was the nice flavor and healthy too as most greens seem to be!
Interesting dish. I didn`t know those leaves can be eaten. Must try it someday.
I too bought some chayote leaves for the first time outside Kaiser yesterday. I was intrigued but had no idea what I’d do with them, so I’ve been hunting around online today. Your recipe sounds great and I’m looking forward to trying it. Thanks for posting!