Monday, November 10, 2008

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
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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
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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
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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!

10 comments:

  1. Ooh, I love hearts of palm. And I don't think I've ever had fresh. We only get the jarred kind here. I'll have to try this one!

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  2. I have never had hearts of palm, jarred or otherwise. They look a bit like bamboo.
    Loving the salmon, especially the salmon cakes, yum!
    Hooray for Tyler! Can't wait. :)

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  3. those salmon patties sound really good along with that soup :) Heart Tyler, can't wait!

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  4. You have the best ingredients ever and I love seeing what you do with them.

    Way to go with the salmon cakes. The Leftover Queen would be proud!

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  5. Hearts of palm are so exotic!I don;t think we get them here in this form.

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  6. I've never had hearts of palm -- it looks really interesting! I am salivating over your salmon -- oh my word. And the salmon cakes the next day! You are a genius!

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  7. I'm in on the TFF. Went to the site and there's not much info there. Sent them an email to let them know I'd be participating. Is the first round-up this Friday?

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  8. Genius use of leftovers! Your fish cakes are gorgeous.

    I have never had hearts of palm, but I love the idea of the lighter remoulade.

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  9. Megan-i think it would work with jarred too. The flavors are really nice.

    Natasya--the fresh ones are a bit "lighter" than bamboo shoots. The salmon cakes are my new fav!

    Stephanie--awe thanks! *blush*

    Kat--thanks! I hope you join us for Tyler sometime!

    Laurie--thanks! I am lucky with some of the ingredients we can get here.

    Johanna--it is nice to get them fresh but this may work with canned too.

    Cathy--thanks! the salmon cakes were my favorite--I may just cook salmon to make the cakes!

    Gloria--so happy to have you aboard TFF!

    Foodycat--with the yogurt you give up a bit of the creamy but it is much lighter. You could probably also do 1/2 or a bit of mayo too.

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