Gizo Recipe: Costa Rican Cheese and Squash Soup
Pipian Squash
A Soup Main Dish
When I came to Costa Rica four years ago (2008), I sampled several new tasty dishes. In particular, several of the soups got my attention: olla de carne, arroz de maiz and gizo. Gizo is my favorite of the three. It is a white soup made from two types of cheeses, milk and a white summer squash called pipian. This soup is always a treat, and I recently watched an expert do her thing with it - so I can share it with you now.
Ingredients
- 1 onion, medium, chopped fine
- 5 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
- 1 red sweet pepper, chopped
- 1/4 cup butter, salted or unsalted
- 4 cups milk, 2%
- 8 cups pipian squash, chopped
- 2 cups sour cream, normal or light
- 3 cups white cheese, soft, immature cheese made in Costa Rica
- 3 cups dry cheese, a smoked cheese made in Costa Rica
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch, for thickening the soup
- salt, to taste
- white pepper, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano, or more to taste
Cook Time
Instructions
- Chop up the pipian, onions, sweet pepper and garlic.
- Melt the butter in a large soup pot and add the chopped up onions, sweet pepper and garlic. Fry for 3 - 5 minutes.
- Add the milk and then the pipian squash. Bring to a simmer and cook until the pipian is tender.
- Add the sour cream and cheese. Cook for 15 minutes.
- Add the salt, pepper and oregano.
- Add the cornstarch and stir until the soup thickens. It is then ready to serve.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 cup | |
| Calories | 407 |
| Calories from Fat | 288 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 32 g | 49% |
| Saturated fat 20 g | 100% |
| Unsaturated fat 1 g | |
| Carbohydrates 10 g | 3% |
| Sugar 35 g | |
| Fiber 1 g | 4% |
| Protein 22 g | 44% |
| Cholesterol 80 mg | 27% |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
Nutrition Notes
Values for fats were calculated using butter, not low-fat margarine or an oil substitute. Full-fat sour cream is also used. Lowering of fat values can be done by using light margarine and low-fat sour cream. You can also chase this down with a glass of wine as a fat antidote.
Serving of Gizo
Costa Ricans (costarricenses, or ticos for short) like to serve their soups with rice. So, you can lower your intake of the soup and make it last longer if you put a cup of rice in your bowl and pour this over it. Rice and this soup go together very well. This will also reduce your fat intake to 50% of the daily value if you put half a cup over rice.
Serving gizo over rice and having it as a side dish can also be done. A side serving of steamed broccoli would go very well with the soup and rice and it will increase the vitamin and fiber value of the meal. Add a piece of chicken if you feel you need more protein.
Recommended Substitutions
Squash. I have never seen pipian squash in the United States, but there is no reason why you couldn't use any summer squash in the recipe as a substitute. Just make sure it is an immature squash that has soft seeds. Or, if you only have older squash, scoop out the seeds. And if the peel is tough, take that off as well.
Cheeses. You should be able to find a white cheese that can substitute for the immature cheese. Don't use a cheese that gets all stringy like mozzarella. I have seen Mexican cheeses in many of the large supermarkets and you may also ask if they have that also as a smoked, or dried cheese. The dried cheese is usually smoked to make it loose moisture, so it has a smokey taste. The texture of the cheese is such that it crumbles, as seen in the photo of the cheese mixture above. The immature cheese cuts nicely into cubes, and it doesn't melt very much.
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More Recipes from Costa Rica
- Gallo Pinto - rice and beans
- Recipes Using Lime Juice: Ceviche and more.
- Recipes Using Star Fruit
- Chicken with a Savory Sauce Made from Winter Squash (Ayote)
