Green Chile Pesto with Roasted Chayote Squash

Inspired by Rick Bayless’s green chile adobo, this beautiful pesto goes great in a roasted chayote side dish, or warm salad. If you can’t find chayote, use grilled zucchini or other summer squash, or even something like acorn or delicata squash. You can add 2 limes' worth of juice right to the pesto if you’re going to use it all at once as a sauce for something. Otherwise, this keeps longer in the fridge if you omit it and add the juice of 1 lime to the chayote instead.

Step: 1

Heat a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Place serrano chiles and garlic in the hot skillet. Cook until blistered and browned on the outside and slightly softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Roast poblano over an open flame until blackened all over; wrap up in a paper towel to let steam.

Step: 2

Place serranos and garlic in a bowl; let cool until safe to handle. Peel the garlic and remove stems and seeds from serranos and poblano.

Step: 3

Place cilantro and parsley in a blender. Add peppers, garlic, salt, and olive oil. Pulse on and off, scraping down the sides if necessary, until puree is fairly smooth and slightly coarse. Store pesto in a bowl until ready to use.

Step: 4

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

Step: 5

Halve and quarter chayote lengthwise. Remove seeds and cut into 1-inch pieces. Place on a lined baking sheet. Toss with olive oil and salt.

Step: 6

Bake in the preheated oven until chayote is just barely fork-tender and lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and add lime juice, 2 to 3 heaping spoonfuls of pesto, and goat cheese. Transfer salad to a serving dish and garnish with pumpkin seeds.

Per Serving: 243 calories; protein 2.6g; carbohydrates 6.4g; fat 24.1g; cholesterol 4.6mg; sodium 519.1mg.

The most clear way to choose a side dish is to caught at your main dish (pasta, chicken, seared tofu) and pick something different. If you’re making pasta, make sure for a simple healthy dish . Making steak? Go for more light. If you’re want to cooking stir-fry with rice, it must not a best idea to adjust with make a rice salad.

This also can apply to cooking method . You don’t want to overcommit your oven by making to do list three dishes at once in there, or be juggling four pans on the cooking items . But sometimes you can made a dish do more often .