Blackened Salmon with Hearts of Palm Remoulade Salad

Not only did I pick up a lot of exotic fruit at the Farmer's market, I also picked up some Hearts of Palm, grown on the Big Island of Hawaii by the Wailea Agricultural Group. If you are not familiar with hearts of palm or only know the jarred kind, fresh hearts of palm are a treat. They come from the inner core of certain palm trees, in this case the peach palm.

Wailea Agricultural Group follows sustainable growing practices since harvesting the off-shoots of the cultivated peach palm it does not harm the "mother plant" (unlike harvesting in the wild which uses the whole plant). Wailea Ag. sells their hearts of palm locally as well as imports them to the mainland. They are at the market once or twice a month and I buy their exotic fruit and spices whenever I can.


The hearts of palm have a mild, clean, slightly sweet taste and a great texture. At a weekly wine pairing at a local restaurant (more about that later), they paired a wine with a Hearts of Palm Salad in a Remoulade dressing and I decided to recreate the dish at home and pair it with some Blackened Salmon. Remoulade is usually a mayonnaise based dressing, like a Creole tarter sauce but I decided to try a yogurt base to make it a bit lighter. I added some Creole Mustard, a bit of hot sauce, capers and chopped parsley.


Hearts of Palm Remoulade Salad

by Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
-----

1/2 lb fresh hearts of palm, chopped
1/3 cup Greek yogurt, drained
1 Tbsp capers
1 tsp Creole mustard
1/2 tsp hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped parsley
paprika to garnish
-----
Mix yogurt, caper, mustard, hot sauce, salt and pepper together. Mix with hearts of palm and stir in chopped parsley. Sprinkle with paprika to garnish.




For the salmon, I just rubbed a couple filets with olive oil, sprinkled with pepper and a Cajun seasoning and seared it in a pan over high heat until blackened, about 2-3 minutes per side.



Results: Quick, easy and delicious. The salad makes a cool, flavorful accompaniment to the spicy fish. Not quite as creamy and decadent as the salad I tried at the restaurant but healthier and lighter and still very good--love those capers.


The best part? The next day, I took the leftover blackened salmon and made salmon cakes, with capers and panko, pan-fried in a bit of olive oil. Even better than the salmon itself. I will be making these again.


Blackened Salmon Cakes
-----
1 (5-6 oz) blackened salmon filet
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1 egg
1 Tbsp capers
1 tsp lemon zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dill, chopped
salt and pepper to taste


Flake the salmon with a fork. Mix with breadcrumbs, egg, capers, lemon zest and juice, dill and a pinch of salt and pepper. Make sure mixture is moist but not wet. Form into patties. Heat olive oil in a pan and add patties, searing on each side about 2 minutes, until browned and warmed through.



Yum! Lots of flavor!

BTW: Are you a Tyler Florence Fan(atic)? Want to cook your favorite Tyler Florence recipes with us? Check out Tyler Florence Fridays--starting this week! Check it out here!