February 2021 Challenge - Palm produce

[butzy]

There we go:
Anything from any form of palm (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arecaceae)
We got dates, jaggery, cabbage heart, palm wine, palm sugar etc
And coconut:
And if you wonder how to use them: check below

 

[butzy]

Standard rules apply. I've just copied them below from last months challenge.
It's only a short month, so lets get going!

• The challenge begins on the 1st of every month. The last entry must be made by the last day of the month.
• You may post multiple entries.
• All entries must be cooked during the month of the challenge.
• If you use a documented recipe, please cite your source.
• Entries should include the name of your dish and a picture of the final product. Sharing personal recipes and pictures of the process are not mandatory but extremely helpful.
• The winner is chosen by the person who posted the challenge, and is announced after the last day of submissions. The decision is final and falls entirely at the discretion of the challenger.
• Submitting an entry makes you eligible to win. If you do not wish to be considered for the win you may still participate in the challenge, but make your wishes known to the challenger.
• The winner’s bounty includes praise, virtual high-fives, and the responsibility of posting the next month’s challenge. That entails choosing a theme, posting a Challenge thread that includes the guidelines, checking in on the submissions regularly during the month, and promptly choosing a winner at the end of the challenge.

 

[teamfat]

Wow. It will be a challenge for me, not familiar ingredients. Could be a very interesting month.

mjb.

 

[butzy]

Wow. It will be a challenge for me, not familiar ingredients. Could be a very interesting month.

mjb.

Even coconut?
I use it a lot in SE Asian food, same as palm sugar.
I was actually just going to do coconut, but then though to expand it a bit.
Curious to see what you are going to come up with!
There's palm oil as well.....

 

[phatch]

The African markets here carry palm oil which is considered a critical flavor and color. Not everyone's digestion agrees with it though.

 

[cheflayne]

kudos on your win butzy, and your selection of a challenege for this month, love everything about it, especially the trip down memory lane with monty python's coconuts :~)

 

[sgsvirgil]

Does coconut oil count?

 

[Hank]

Tropical Cocktails!

 

[eastshores]

Congrats @butzy .. I love the theme too. Might be hard for some that live where palms don't grow, but coconut milk offers a lot of possibility.

 

[butzy]

Does coconut oil count?

Yes!

 

[butzy]

And entries can be sweet or savoury

 

[eastshores]

I guess I'll be first out of the gate. The first night Butzy announced the new theme I ran to the grocery store and bought several cans of palm hearts. I've never worked with them but I'd tasted them before and knew they were similar to artichoke hearts. I had to come up with my own dish but as a home cook this is probably the best I've done. I turned carrots for the first time, and sous vide them with a little butter and thyme. Pan sauteed red snapper. Pan sauteed the palm hearts. And finally I made a lemon gastrique with a little of the pan fond and garnished with quickly blanched cilantro.

I didn't know what to expect but the palm hearts paired extremely well with the snapper. The carrots brought a little sweetness, the lemon gastrique a little acid, and cilantro the herbaceous note it needed to finish things out.

Here's the smallest sous vide bag I've ever done lol


Hearts of palm sauteing in butter with s&p


Finished dish. I didn't think my carrots looked very good but they smoothed out a little after cooking.


Alternate angle with a little better view of the palm hearts

 

[teamfat]

Just lovely!

mjb.

 

[butzy]

Awesome @eastshores !
That looks very tasty.
I don't think I ever had palm hearts.
Bonus points for the first entry
I was about to do a coconut dish to get something going, but luckily you beat me to it!

 

[teamfat]

I am pretty sure I have never made anything with hearts of palm. I may have had a salad once that had some in it.

Will be buying some my next trip to the store.

And maybe some dates.

mjb.

 

[eastshores]

I am pretty sure I have never made anything with hearts of palm. I may have had a salad once that had some in it.

Will be buying some my next trip to the store.

And maybe some dates.

mjb.

Oh man. I am actually making a salad with my hearts of palm and stuffed dates for the immediate family only superbowl snacks tonight. I happened to pass a halal market yesterday and had to go in for a minute since I've never been in one and saw the dates. I will hold off posting them so others have a chance to get some original ideas in!

 

[butzy]

Just post @,eastshores !
I'm sure more entries will come soon

 

[teamfat]

Just got these at my local Kroger affiliate.



Taste a lot like pickled asparagus. Wonder if the Asian markets have fresh, raw ones?

I'll work up something to do with these for the challenge.

mjb.

 

[eastshores]

@teamfat I agree.. I feel like there are notes of asparagus. A lot of people say they taste like artichoke hearts. I've never seen fresh hearts of palm, I believe they are very perishable. My father though as a poor and sometimes starving boy in Florida would eat "swamp cabbage" .. you don't hear many people talk about that anymore but it was a popular food item for early Floridian's and comes from our state tree the sabal palm.

 

[eastshores]

Well @butzy said to post so here's one of many salad possibilities that incorporate hearts of palm. From a little poking around online this is supposed to be an Argentinian take on things. I must say the taste of the hearts of palm are really growing on me. I've always liked artichoke hearts but it always seemed like at least some of them had fibrous inedible pieces that sort of ruined things and so far I've had none of that with the hearts of palm. The very center of smaller pieces can be a little mushy but that's offset by the larger crisp and crunchy pieces.

Start with this


Hold your tongue just right and swing a knife around and end up with this