It’s Choko season!
This incredible vine has come into abundance! Beautiful, large and heavy chokos are picked off our vine which drapes over our water tank. Chokos are on Isabell Shipard’s list of survival foods, they can be eaten raw, steamed, roasted, pickled and fried. Whenever you need some filler, add some choko (instead of potato and other starchy vegetables). It is a low carbohydrate and reasonably low calorie vegetable and very versatile. And, once the vine is growing, it produces abundantly. But what to do with so much choko abundance? We have resorted to using choko in our breakfast. The recipe below will show how. This recipe can also be used as a pie filling.
Choko breakfast:
Peel and remove the heart of 3 medium size chokos. Cut up in small cubes. Put into a saucepan.
Add 5 or 6 soft bananas and any other fruit you may want to use up. Add 2 Tbs of rapadura sugar (optional) and add water (halfway up to the top of the fruit and choko is enough).
Bring to boil and let boil until choko is soft. Take off the heat and blend with a Barmix or similar hand blender, alternatively let it cool down a little and blend in a blender. Serve while still warm in a bowl, top with yoghurt (and fresh fruit and/or shredded coconut if desired). Enjoy!
To use as a pie filling:
Prepare pie base (mix flour, little sugar, pinch of salt and olive oil or melted/softened butter), press into pie dish, prick a few times with a fork and bake at around 180C until it starts to brown. Remove from oven and let it cool down. Fill with prepared pie filling (as above) and store in the fridge for at least 4 – 6 hours. Enjoy with some whole whipped cream. The chokos make it taste like apple pie!!
Cooking and preparing food is a creative process, please do not be afraid to experiment! Add different fruits, or use chokos on their own with some sugar or Yacon sirup. Add some chopped up yacon to it or use yacon juice for sweetener. The options are limitless!!
©2012 Permaculture Research Institute Sunshine Coast – Choko recipes.
I can vouch for the pie filling from personal experience. Zaia it was magnificent.
Next week I’m going to start lifting my yakon and will try making syrup.