Mirliton and Sausage Soup

Last November I ended up with a copious amount of mirliton – as in upwards of 40 pounds. I couldn’t possibly make shrimp and mirliton with all of them especially since my Armo isn’t a fan of the crustaceans. I took to the floor and surrounded myself with cookbooks. As I scanned the index of the Encyclopedia of Cajun Cooking by John Folse and saw mirliton soup, I knew that would be the winner.

However, it called for shrimp so I used John Folse’s recipe as inspiration.

Before you go on a wild goose chase for mirliton, there’s a chance they’ll be labeled as alligator pear or more commonly chayote. If you don’t see them, you can ask your favorite produce guy if he can snag a few for you. If not, white patty pan squash are a perfect substitute.

This soup is light enough to start a meal with, but rich enough to comfort the soul.

Ingredients
2 lbs of fresh sausage
3 c of chopped onion (about 1 large)
4 lbs of mirliton
½ t ground cayenne pepper
¾ tsp black pepper
1 T roasted chicken base
6 c water
1 c pecans
2 T tasso
1 Tbl minced garlic cloves
1 pint half and half
parsley or green onions, chopped finely (garnish
2 lemons (garnish)
paprika (garnish)

Directions
If your sausage has casing, use kitchen shears to cut the length of the sausage. Put half of the loose sausage in a hot heavy bottom pot. You should hear a sizzle. If not, bump that heat up. Make sure you keep your heat up because we want a good sear before drying out the interior. Use a spatula to break up the sausage in about ½ “ chunks. I typically like my ground meat in very small pieces, but we need the texture.

Stir the meat occasionally. When it’s dark brown, put it in a bowl and repeat. I typically don’t like batch cooking because it dirties extra dishes. In this case, we’re reserving the meat as a garnish so won’t dirty an extra dish. If you try to cook the meat all at once, it will take far longer to brown and will likely dry out before you get a good crust. Spoon out excess grease (leave about 1-2 Tbl of fat in the pot). Do not pour the fat down the sink drain even if you have a garbage disposal.

Add the onion to the pot and lower the heat to medium low. The onion should sizzle a little when it hits the pan and quickly release the gratin at the bottom of pan. You don’t want to brown the onion.

Work with 1 mirliton at a time so they can start cooking quicker. Slice off both ends of the mirliton. Stand it upright, and slice off the skin. While it remains vertical, slice it in half and spoon out the seed. Cube it and place it in the pot. Cover. Repeat. Add salt, cayenne and black pepper, and chicken base. Give it a quick stir and cover. If it starts sticking, your heat is most likely too hot. Lower the temperature and add a little water.

When the mirliton is fork tender, add the water and pecans. Puree using an immersion blender (or regular blender). Taste, add more salt if needed. Chop the tasso and mince the garlic. Add it to the pot and simmer for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Stir in half and half. Ladle the soup in the bowl, sprinkle paprika, add sausage, drizzle a few drops of lemon juice, and sprinkle chopped parsley or green onions.

Notes
Mirliton might be labeled as chayote or alligator pear.

You can substitute patty pan squash for mirliton.

You can substitute 1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of milk in place of half and half.

If you don’t have roasted chicken baste (I use Better than Bouillon), use stock or granules.

Walnuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds, or pumpkin seeds all work in place of pecans.

Tasso is a highly smoked meat so you can substitute something else super smoky. Tasso is pretty strong which is why it’s used in a small quantity. Keep in mind mirliton is very mild flavor so you don’t want to over power it.

Salt amount will vary a fair bit depending on your sausage, tasso, and stock. Start with ½ tsp and you can always add more if needed.