Sweet Potato and Chayote Soup

My mother loves chayotes, but I never have. I had to come up with a recipe that was a good compromise, but accounted for our food allergies. This soup is a big hit with family and friends, and it is really VERY simple. We use Massel "chicken" bouillon for the stock, as it contains no animal products, making this dish vegetarian. Chayotes are also known as merletons.

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon butter
• 1  yellow onion, diced
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 5  cups  chicken stock or 5  cups vegetarian chicken stock
• 2  bay leaves
• 1  large sweet potato
• 2  chayotes, peeled, seeded and diced

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a medium stock pot or dutch oven.
2. At medium heat, add onion and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the stock, bay leaves, and sweet potato and simmer until the sweet potato slices are soft, about 20 minutes.
4. When the sweet potato slices are soft, remove the bay leaves.
5. Add the chayotes and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until chayote is soft, about 15 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, then puree the soup with a food processor, blender or wand blender.