I made these the other day for my mother who is in town visiting from Paris. She is also a huge seafood lover and I wanted to make her something that she would enjoy! Luckily I always have several cans of hearts of palm in my pantry so vegan calamari was a perfect option.. She thought these were delicious and couldn't believe they were made with hearts of palm.
What are Hearts of Palm
Hearts of palm are cut from the core of palm tree species native to South and Central America. Once harvested they are cut into cylinders or sliced into rings and packed in water or brine. Hearts of palm are low in calories and fat and are cholesterol free. They also provide a good source of vitamins such as zinc, potassium, and vitamin C
Where to find them
You can find hearts of palm in just about any grocery store. They are usually on the shelves along side the olives, artichokes and jarred peppers. I usually get them from Trader Joe's or Whole Foods
Cooking Tips
Overall making heart of palm calamari is super simple but there are a few tips that came make the process super easy.
About the hearts of palm - The hearts of palm come in a few different varieties. You can get them in glass jars and canned in water. You can find it whole and sometimes sliced into rings. I prefer to buy them canned in water whole.and I just slice them and separate the rings.
Don't over handle them - Because hearts of palm are canned or jarred in water they can also be pretty fragile. So don't over handle them or you will risk them falling apart.
Make sure you cook them long enough - Hearts of palm have lots of moisture so cooking them long enough to get rid of most of the moisture is key to making sure they are super crispy.
Cook them in batches - Do not overcrowd your pan or try to cook them all at one time. Cook them in batches. This will ensure they come out super crispy.
Ingredients
4 cans of whole hearts of palm rinsed drained and sliced into 1/2 inch rings
1 lemon sliced
3 tbs of fresh parsley chopped
oil for cooking (I used avocado oil)
Wet Batter
1/2 cup of all purpose or rice flour
1 cup of water
1 tbs of kelp seasoning
1 tsp of old bay seasoning
1 tsp of salt
Dry Batter
1-1/2 cup of all purpose or rice flour
1 tbs of kelp seasoning
1 tsp of old bay seasoning
1 tsp of sea salt
Instructions
First use your fingers to gently separate the hearts of palm pieces into rings and set aside.
Next mix together the wet batter by adding all the ingredients to a small bowl and mix well. The batter will be water and thats fine.
Next mix together the dry batter ingredients into a medium size bowl and mix well.
Prepare the hearts of palm by adding them into the wet batter first making sure they are completely coated. Then immediately add them to the dry batter making sure they are completely coated. Gently shake off the excess flour and set aside until ready too use.
Add about 1 inch of oil into a skillet and place it over medium high heat.
Once the oil is hot carefully add the battered hearts of palm pieces and cook for about 4 minutes on each side or until crispy and golden brown.
Remove from the skillet and drain on a paper towel.
Immediately sprinkle with salt and pepper and a fresh squeeze of lemon juice.
Garnish with parsley before serving.
