MIRLITON SOUP
SOURCE: LEAH CHASE. THE DOOKY CHASE COOKBOOK.
Aside from Haiti, Louisiana is the other locale that uses the term “mirliton” for chayote and is the only U.S. state to adopt and integrate the vegetable into its diet, thus adding a unique facet that diverges from the monolithic gastronomy of its erstwhile American Confederates. Having said that, the evolutionary journey of chayote in Creole cuisine can be described as both a tumultuously dark page and a culturally relevant milestone in black narratives and history especially when viewed under the lenses of colonialism, war repercussions, racism and chattel slavery, emancipation and diaspora, and acculturation and survival. The Mirliton Soup of Dooky Chase in New Orleans is one of the few remnants of that struggle against institutionalized racism by nourishing the spirits and the stomachs of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and by continuing to inspire and unite black communities even after Leah Chase’s untimely death in 2019.
Ingredients
2 pounds/900 grams chayote
Water
4 ounces/113 grams unsalted butter
1 cup/52 grams chopped onions
1/4 cup/26 grams chopped celery
1/4 cup/30 grams all-purpose flour
4 ounces/113 grams ham, preferably smoked and finely chopped
8 ounces/225 grams peeled and deveined shrimp, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon/0.25 grams dried thyme
1/2 cup/120 mL heavy cream
1/2 cup/120 mL milk, preferably full cream
1 tablespoon/2 grams parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon/6 grams salt
1/2 teaspoon/1 gram freshly ground white pepper
Specific Equipment
Stockpot
Large and deep-bottomed bowl
Vegetable mill OR food processor
Wire whisk
Ladle
Serves 6
Instructions
1. Peel the chayotes and slice them in half lengthwise. Place each chayote half in a stockpot filled with 8 cups/1.8 L water. Bring the water to a boil and cook the chayotes for 20 to 30 minutes until tender.
2. Remove the chayotes from the stockpot and reserve the water in a large bowl. Set the water aside.
3. Discard the seed from the chayote and mash the chayote pulp with a vegetable mill or a food processor. Set the chayote aside.
4. Melt the butter in the stockpot over medium heat. Sauté the onions and celery until onions are clear and tender. Stir in the flour and cook gently for 5 minutes without browning the flour. Add the ham and shrimp and cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Return the reserved chayote water gradually to the stockpot, whisking continuously until the flour residues completely dissolve. Whisk in the mashed chayote, garlic, thyme until well-blended.
6. Pour in the heavy cream and milk and season with parsley, salt, and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
7. Remove the stockpot from heat, and ladle the soup into individual serving bowls.
