This recipe comes from an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives which featured a restaurant in Brooklyn called the Sidecar. They created a unique version of a Cuban Sandwich named the Cubano, made with pulled pork and baked ham. It was served on ciabtta bread with chayote slaw. Once we saw this sandwich made the Sidecar was added to our list of places to visit but then we found the recipe online for their Cubano. It looked so good on TV we decided to give it a try before we went for a visit. We got all of the ingredients and made all of the individual components for the sandwich but never ended up making a full Sidecar Cubano. Instead we decided to feature all of the recipes individually.

This whole time you were probably asking "What is a chayote?". Chyote is is an edible fruit belonging to the gourd family along with melons, cucumbers and squash. The chayote is native to Mexico, but has been introduced as a crop worldwide. The main growing regions are Costa Rica and Veracruz, Mexico. The chayote is used in both raw and cooked forms. It has a fairly bland taste, and a texture is described as a cross between a potato and a cucumber.

Now that we are all familiar with what a chyote is, we present to you the chyote Slaw.

Ingredients:

1 pint radishes

1 chayote squash

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Zest and juice of 1 lime

Salt

Directions:

Slice the radishes and chayote 1/4-inch thick on a mandoline. Combine with the cilantro, lime zest and lime juice in a mixing bowl and add salt to taste, adjusting the amount of lime juice as necessary.

Results:

We tasted some of the chyote before we added it into the slaw and it was bland. Radishes do not have a ton of flavor either, so we got worried that this recipe was going to be a waste of time. Our only hope was that the lime juice and cilantro could save this dish. Surprise, surprise they transformed our bland bowl of translucent slices into a deliciously sweet and crunchy side dish. We love the flavor profile that lime and cilantro bring to a dish. The lime juice helped to "pickle" the chyote and radishes, imparting a nice sweetness into each. Cilantro finished off the dish by adding its fresh citrus hint while adding some nice color.

This slaw would be perfect on top of any taco, especially a pork taco. Due to the lime and cilantro, this slaw would also work nicely with any dish that uses a similar flavor profile. We could see it pairing nicely with grilled chicken. It would also make a nice summer BBQ alternative to traditional coleslaw. We would recommend making this recipe, it could your summer surprise at your next BBQ!

Should or Should Not Eat:

Chyote Slaw is a Should Eat. This recipe provides a new twist on a traditional summer side dish. The crunch of the chyote and radishes paired with lime and cilantro creates this sweet and crunchy slaw with a refreshing citrus flavor profile.