A beloved south Louisiana holiday dish, my gluten free Cajun shrimp stuffed mirliton is one guaranteed show-stopping appetizer or side dish for your next get-together. Tender boiled mirliton are topped with the browned Cajun trinity, shrimp and gluten free breadcrumbs before baking into piping hot, yum-delicious perfection. This super easy recipe is also a year-round keeper that you can adapt to whatever squash you happen to have on hand. Yep and yay…
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Oh Gluten Free Cajun Shrimp Stuffed Mirliton, You’re Sooo Fancy…Yep…
I don’t know what it is about stuffed foods, but I have to admit that I’m immediately impressed as soon as I first lay my eyes on one. I want to touch it. I want to smell it. And if it’s gluten free, I want everybody to straight get out of my way so I can GET ME SOME…For realz…
Well, this gluten free Cajun shrimp stuffed mirliton is certainly no exception, y’all!! Festive and oh sooo fancy to look at, this south Louisiana special recipe gives me that warm and comforting nostalgic deep within my heart and soul that I just don’t get from ‘new recipe’ creations.
Called mirliton by everyone in south Louisiana, this alligator pear or chayote squash recipe is a whole lot easier than it looks. And, that’s why I decided to include it on my blog this holiday season. You know all the rushing around us celiacs and gluten intolerants have to do to keep from being glutened around the holidays? How we have to take our own food to parties and events? Or risk becoming sick and miserable for sometimes weeks on end?
Well, I love y’all. So, I wanted to give you this foolproof gluten free Cajun shrimp stuffed mirliton recipe to help you get better through your holidays…
How to Make Gluten Free Cajun Shrimp Stuffed Mirliton Like a Local, Y’all…
To begin the gluten free Cajun shrimp stuffed mirliton, boil whole mirlitons in a large salted stock pot for about one hour. You don’t have to peel the mirliton or anything. Just place them in cold water, then bring the pot to a boil. I added black pepper and cayenne pepper along with the salt. This gives the boiled mirliton a little extra flavor. However, I used a lot of seasonings in the stuffing mix. So, you might not want to go overboard with seasoning the water, especially if you’re going to be feeding kids.
Once the mirlitons are super tender, let them cool. Then, brown the Cajun trinity of onion, bell pepper and celery. When that’s almost done, add a couple of cloves of minced garlic, seasoned shrimp, cheese and gluten free bread crumbs to the skillet. Cook that down for a few minutes, then turn off the fire.
Next, halve each mirliton, and scoop out the seeds and hard flesh. But, leave about 1/4-inch of flesh in the mirliton shell. Finally, stuff each mirliton half with the Cajun shrimp and breadcrumb mixture. Then, bake in a preheated oven for approximately 30 to 45 minutes.
And that is it, y’all!! The soft mirliton juxtaposed with the slightly crunchy shrimp stuffing is addictive from first bite. Oh, and since you can swap out the gluten free bread crumbs for grain free bread crumbs, you can make this south Louisiana superstar dish keto. Then, if you take use oil instead of butter, and skip the cheese, it’s Paleo now. Oh yes!!
Share this gluten free Cajun shrimp stuffed mirliton with those who love you for your feisty spirit and fabulous home chef skills. And see y’all on the yum side..
Gluten Free Cajun Shrimp Stuffed Mirliton
Ingredients
- 4 large mirliton (chayote squash) (boiled flesh reserved)
- 2 tablespoons butter or oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped
- 1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
Shrimp Seasoning & Stuffing
- 3/4 pound shrimp
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup Romano cheese (sub Parmesan)
- 1 1/4 cups gluten free bread crumbs (see notes)
Instructions
- Season the shrimp with the parsley, paprika, garlic powder, hot sauce, and salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Boil mirlitons in a large pot of salted water until very tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Add black pepper and cayenne pepper to the water, if desired.
- When mirlitons are tender, carefully remove them with a very large slotted spoon. Set on baking sheet until very cool to the touch.
- When the mirlitons are cooled enough to handle, cut each one in half. Then, remove and discard the seed and any whitish, hard flesh around the seed.
- Scoop out the remaining mirliton flesh, carefully leaving about 1/4-inches of flesh all the way around each mirliton half. Set each half inside of a well-greased cast iron skillet or baking sheet.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Brown the onion, green and red bell pepper, and celery in the oil or butter.
- When browned, add the minced garlic cloves and shrimp. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the shrimp turn opaque.
- Stir the Romano cheese, bread crumbs and mirliton flesh together in a bowl until-well-incorporated.
- Stir the mixture into the browned Cajun trinity, garlic and shrimp mixture until very well-combined.
- Scoop shrimp mirliton stuffing mixture equally onto all 8 mirliton halves.
- Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
Notes
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