Cream of Mirliton and Shrimp Soup

Cream of Mirliton and Shrimp Soup

This creamy mirliton and shrimp soup is a holiday classic.

Cream of Mirliton and Shrimp Soup
Serves 10
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Ingredients
  1. 8 mirlitons*, halved
  2. ¼ cup Louisiana pecan oil
  3. ½ cup butter
  4. 1 cup chopped sweet onion
  5. 1 cup chopped celery
  6. 1½ teaspoons minced garlic
  7. 1 pound small Louisiana shrimp, peeled and deveined
  8. 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  9. 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
  10. 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  11. ½ teaspoon salt
  12. ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  13. ½ teaspoon dried basil
  14. 2 tablespoons quick-mixing flour, such as Wondra
  15. 2 quarts chicken broth
  16. 1 cup half-and-half
Instructions
  1. To a large pot, add mirlitons and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until fork-tender, about 45 minutes. Transfer mirlitons to a colander, and let stand until cool enough to handle.
  2. Remove and discard seeds and fibrous membranes from mirlitons, and scoop out as much flesh as possible. Place flesh in a large bowl, and mash until smooth.
  3. In a large Dutch oven, heat pecan oil and butter over low heat until melted. Add onion, celery, and mirliton; cook until onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and shrimp; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in peppers, salt, ginger, and basil. Add fl our, stirring well.
  4. Stir in broth, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, and add half-and-half. Serve immediately.
Notes
  1. *Mirliton is labeled as chayote in some supermarkets
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22 COMMENTS

  1. I used the black, white, and cayenne peppers. The soup is spicy. If you prefer less spice, you may want to add the pepper(s) after the half and half or just eliminate one.

  4. This was pretty good – I am from New Orleans and I am used to making stuffed mirlitons and this was very similar minus the breading/carbs. I didn’t mash my mirlitons thoroughly but left many in a small dice.I added extra spices and it was really delicious. I wish this squash wasn’t so hard to find or so expensive. I remember my grandma grew them on a vine in her backyard so we always had them.
    We always ate the boiled seeds when momma cut them up for the casserole.
    I was wondering if some small diced potatoes and or carrots might work in t his dish to give it some heartiness. Anyway it was indeed delicious! Thanks.

  5. Mirlitons, are usually priced at three or four for $1.00 around the peak of their season, December through March. If you cannot find mirliton, Try a different member of the ‘squash’ family. Squash is very versatile.

  9. Mirlitons are seasonal but I buy when plentiful, boil, peel and freeze them until needed. I make a merliton casserole for Thanksgiving and Christmas. For this dish I boil them in a little crab boil. Great taste.

    • You could freeze this, but here’s why we wouldn’t recommend it: after defrosting, the texture of the shrimp will not be quite as good, and the half-and-half may have an off-texture.

      • Couldn’t you freeze it without the shrimp and half-and-half and just add that in when you heat it? It was delicious!! I added some Tony Chachere’s to it. I’m going to try adding a little crab boil next time like another person suggested. It was a big hit with my family! Thanks!!

          • I am from south Louisiana and I really want to try this. My thoughts are that adding the shrimp later in the preparation might work well. I don’t like to cook shrimp too long they can be overcooked very easily. What I was thinking on doing was fix it as directed, except add seafood base (broth) instead of chicken. Then saute the shrimp in a little butter separately, before adding it to the rest of the ingredients. I think the flavours would blend well.

    • Crabmeat would probably be a better substitute than the sausage here. You could use a mix of leg meat and lump (or you could add some jumbo lump at the end if you want to be fancy!)

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