Canal House's Hearts of Palm and Blood Orange Salad

I found myself staring into the salad plate today at lunch, wishing I had a silk shirt in exactly the color of that vinaigrette. Or maybe a stiff little canvas skirt with a bit of swing, perfect with tucked-in white tee-shirts and flat sandals. Better yet, a wedding bouquet made of peonies in this hue, or a little nosegay of ranunculus, my very favorites.

This winter has dragged on long enough when you start seeing your spring wardrobe in the communal salad plate, methinks. And cruelly, a few weeks ago, while New York was still digging out from under all their snow, we actually had warm winds and bright sun. It felt like spring and, leaning out of my bedroom window one morning, I saw buds on the majestic chestnut tree that lives in our courtyard and whose branches frame the morning sky for me every day. But then, in one fell swoop, Arctic winds and their accompanying temperatures befell us again.

But you know what those Arctic winds brought along with them, besides the cold wind? A whole lot of sunshine, every day this week. Which puts me in the very odd position of actually being grateful for something so cold that it sears the top layer off my skin every day.

You know what else is nice? Discovering a new salad to eat multiple times a week. I found this one the other night when we had friends over for dinner. Another dinner party, yes! But I stuck to my guns and made only what I wanted to eat, which happened to be a cauliflower soufflé (after making this one in London last weekend with one of my besties and realizing just how awesome a soufflé dinner can be) and apple strudel with softly whipped cream flavored with vanilla sugar for dessert. We needed something cleansing and astringent between those two knockouts and I found the very thing nestled in the front pages of The Canal House's third volume, Winter & Spring.

You buy a jar of hearts of palm, locavorism be damned, a few blood oranges, which - now that I live just north of Italy - I feel I can eat with aplomb, and a head of frisée. Then you marinate the hearts of palm, ivory batons quartered lengthwise, in a vinaigrette made of little else besides mustard and blood orange juice and olive oil. Mixing it together, you'll see that lush pinkness swirl into existence. You might, like me, have to restrain yourself from using this as a dye.

You cut little suprêmes from the oranges, meaning you hold a peeled orange gently in the palm of your hand and then, using a sharp knife and some care, you carefully slice the segments of the orange out from between their connective membranes. This is the fancy way of using oranges in this salad. If this seems like far too much fuss, you can also just peel the orange and cut it into slices crosswise. But there was something meditative and peaceful about the suprêming for me. I've spent all week in a fog of work and taxes and dirty sweatpants; standing over the counter cutting an orange into pretty segments was the most glamorous I got all week.

That's really the hardest work, anyway. You put the washed and dried frisée (I like to rip it into bite-sized pieces) on a plate or in a bowl and then arrange the hearts of palm, stained the palest pink, and the orange segments on the salad, before drizzling the lot with the gorgeous vinaigrette. The hearts of palm, if you've never had them, feel squeaky and velvety at the same time under your teeth and work to tame the edge of the blood oranges and the bite of the frisée. They soak up the vinaigrette, transforming into the mildest of pickles, and are simply a joy to eat.

It's such a simple little combination, but a welcome change from the usual soft lettuce-orange-avocado salad that I rely on in winter. This one's a little spunkier and a little more bitter, which I love. It's a winter salad with what I like to think of as a Caribbean soul. And will miracles never cease: I even found myself thinking, as I crunched through lunch today, that winter can stay a little longer, as long as it keeps us rich in hearts of palm and blood oranges.

Hearts of Palm and Blood Orange Salad
Serves 4

2 blood oranges
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar, optional
1 jar (14.8 ounces) hearts of palm, drained and quartered lengthwise
Small head frisée lettuce

1. Working with one orange at a time, peel the fruit, taking care to remove most of the pith. Working over a bowl, slice the orange into segments, letting the segments and juice fall into the bowl. Squeeze any juice from the leftovers in your hand into the bowl.

2. Stir the mustard and lemon juice together in a wide bowl. Add some salt and pepper to taste, then stir in the reserved blood orange juice. Whisk in the olive oil. Taste for seasoning and add the vinegar, if using. Add the hearts of palm to the bowl and gently turn them in the vinaigrette. Set aside to marinate.

3. Arrange the frisée on a serving plate or in a bowl. Place the hearts of palm and orange segments over the frisée and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Drizzle a little more olive oil over the salad and serve.

Comments

[multikulinaria]

I admit to be a salad-avoider. But this one is surely tempting. Little work and great results...

[Gabriella]

Yes, please! That sounds and looks delicious!

[dervla]

yumm i think i'm going to try this on sunday, thanks L!

[Stephanie]

You know, I was thinking the same thing about the shade of that vinaigrette; it would make for a perfect skirt! As for the salad, well, it makes me wish there was a winter to make me long for spring here in Santa Monica, CA. (I hope that made sense)

Which volume of Canal House did you find this in? Because if it is the most recent one, that means I skipped right over it!

[Luisa]

Enjoy, d!

Stephanie - that does make sense... :) It was in the third volume, Winter & Spring.

[Aquí]

This looks amazing. I absolutely love your writing btw. I'll be making this salad within a few days :)

[The Rowdy Chowgirl]

I don't think I've ever eaten hearts of palm--it's so much fun to stumble on something new that I probably should have tasted years ago!

[Suzy]

You write so beautifully. I am always impressed.

[Chihiro]

I want a spring dress in that color! A sort of retro dress with a moderately flared out skirt and tight waist. Supreming citrus is (one) kitchen task I really really dislike and I always take the lazy option of just slicing but I see it really is worth the effort because your salad looks infinitely nicer.

And just so you know, New York also had a week of 60 degree+ weather two weeks ago. And it was glorious, until the snow started again. The groundhog did see his shadow though, so we can all be hopeful :)

[Sasa]

Crushing wasn't it - I went about telling anyone who'd listen that spring was early this year and bam, huge dump of snow. That'll learn me to pretend I'm a weather girl/

[Michelle]

LOVE it! It looks like spring!

[Robin (Hippo Flambe)]

As I read this we are receiving another huge snow storm. A large enough snow storm that at the end of it this February will move from the 5th most snowy to the 2nd or even, gulp, 1st. Thanks for sharing a salad that can help give me a feeling of spring.

For me the vinaigrette color reminds me of my favorite summer toe nail polish.

-Robin

[Veronica]

Looks absolutely divine. So super spring. I've long wanted to try something with blood oranges (not that they're to be found here where I live)so I found myself instead getting excited about your cauliflower soufflé. That's really something for the Dutchies who are coming to dinner soon. That lettuce-orange-avocado salad sounds delicious too, and maybe I'll finish with a kiwi pavolva for desset. But - have I missed the receipe for that soufflé? (not to mention the salad)

Love your writing.

Veronica

[Luisa]

Aqui, Suzy - thank you!

Robin - ooh yes, nail polish that color, I want it.

Veronica - I haven't posted about it yet! If you've got the latest Canal House volume, it's in there. The zucchini one from Mark Bittman that I linked to in the post is really, really good, too.

[caitlindentino]

I have been on a blood orange kick all winter - in salads with beets, with quinoa and avocado, in a sorbet, in cake and now, it looks like I have another reason cut them open and get pink-stained finger tips. I love hearts of palm and love this new {to me} combination for them. In fact, I have a jar lurking in the cupboard now, which may just make it to the table in time for dinner.

Thanks Luisa!!

[Samantha Clark]

Anything that does not require cooking I will surely try! It's much too difficult in my tiny studio kitchen (no oven and just a camping hotplate). I've never had blood oranges before. The color is divine, so the taste must be as well!

[Shaheen {The Purple Foodie}]

I love peeling oranges in a way that there is not a tiny bit of fibre left on it. It feels so elegant and so fancy to eat it like that. It's like you really need to put yourself through the process of peeling it yourself to deserve eating a segment.

[elizabeth]

Citrus is the only saving grace of winter, I think: brightly colored jewels of pulp practically bursting of juice that works on their own and in savory dishes like these.

I'm not a big fan of hearts of palm, but perhaps I'll give this a try but I'll also have to try this with fennel, which is my personal favorite citrus/vegetable combination.

[laura]

I made this last night and again today and it was simple to prepare and so delicious. Thank you!

[Elizabeth Berry Wagner]

Delicious recipes and wonderful writing! I just love reading this blog as much as I love the recipes. It certainly inspires this American home cook. Thank you, Luisa!

[Kitchenvoyage.blogspot.com]

I really like the typical Palm salad and I love blood oranges since i was kid and my neighbour has a couple of trees. He used to call drunken red wine ornages.

http://kitchenvoyage.blogspot.com

[local palmita]

I understand that "locavarism be damned" was said tongue in cheek and I understand the sentiment, I do---but consider the issues from the point of view of the local who is local. It's not just about buying local and seasonable produce but being aware of the real cost of commodities.

Harvesting of palms has significant consequences for the environment (not in the Caribbean, but in Central/Latin and South America) and the workers who harvest them. Do try to purchase sustainable hearts of palm. A quick google search will help us to learn the issues and to discern which distributors might be worth supporting.

Thank you for an intriguing recipe.

[Scott at Real Epicurean]

Blood oranges everywhere at the moment - guess they're in season?

Still, I've never eaten heart of palm and would love to give it (them) a go!

[Ramki]

It is nice to see how a fruit and Vegetable combination, a favourite of the Royal Moguls and Ancient Persians, works so well in this recipe.

And Palm of hearts goes straight into my One Page Salad Cheatsheet :)

[ann]

I've had this one bookmarked for awhile! Thanks for the recommendation!!

[Nancy]

Late last summer I bought a linen dress the exact shade of that vinaigrette - but never had a chance to wear it before fall arrived. I'll have to remedy that this year. For now, this salad will keep things sunny until spring arrives in ny.

[anna hedworth]

i can't wait to make this when it warms up in North East England, until that time I'll finish off the lovely onion soup...

[Kristine in Santa Barbara]

This salad saved our dinner! I made Cafe Lago meatballs and spaghetti, which I had never tried before and was very excited about. Decided that this salad was the perfect fresh, citrusy, astringent second course. The meatballs were a disaster. The sauce was amazing, the meatballs came together perfectly, they looked amazing. But something was wrong with ground turkey I used. The flavor was off, off, off and the whole thing went in the trash.

But the salad was amazing! I only had a mix of bitter greens that included frisee, and I had regular navels from the backyard, but it was beautiful to look at and wonderful eat. Such a good use of palm hearts. And it was our entire dinner. That and lots of wine. And cookies afterwards as I had planned no dessert following a meatball/pasta dinner.

Thanks for this recipe. It's a keeper. Kristine

[cara]

marni has your back, albeit not in canvas... skirt in first pic here:

http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/2011/02/marni-fall-2011.html

[Luisa]

Samantha - you must try blood oranges. If they're good, they're like regular oranges on crack (in a good way). Super-flavored, sour, almost bitter, with a deeper, darker flavor. I LOVE them.

Laura - so glad you liked it!

Elizabeth - thank YOU! Your comment made my day.

Local palmita - I didn't know that harvesting hearts of palm is devastating to the environment. My jar gives no indication of being sustainably harvested and I think I have little hope of finding those in Berlin. Another thing to avoid. What a shame!

Kristine - what a bummer! So, so glad the salad saved your dinner. :)

Cara - wow, good eye!! Amazing.

[Nuts about food]

I adore hearts of palm and the idea of them soaking up the red juice, mustard and olive oil got my taste buds going. Must try. Perhaps local palmita can give us some suggestions on sustainably harvested palmito?

[local palmita]

Nuts about food, I try not to pick out specific suppliers as there are several groups that are doing good work around hearts of palm, in particular, and most people will learn more by doing the research themselves. As they say, We are ALL local--and so we need to find out what works for us & google does make that easier than ever. I've been told that you can get local organic palm in Florida as well as Australia and many places in between but my personal experiences are in the east border of Colombia--where we are careful to make choices, even though this is a local product.

That said, Edward & Sons does a good job of explaining the overall issues: http://www.edwardandsons.com/palmhearts.itml

The largest importer of rainforest palm hearts is France, followed by Canada, the US, Spain, Japan, Holland, and Belgium; the high number of European consumers suggests that there very well may be a market for sustainable palm hearts--I don't know how to search for distributors in Berlin, but we might be surprised!

Your recipe made my mouth water, so I went ahead and made it with very,very mild lightly steamed sliced young turnips. In the Spring, I will make it with fat asparagus stems!

[Bori]

It is truly amazing that the Sun has been shining in Berlin for over a week now, every day!!! Not something you would expect in February :-) So this salad is a true celebration of this beautiful weather and a good way of preparing for SPRING! :-) Bori (also from Berlin)

[Veronica]

Looking forward to that posting of the cauliflower souffle! The zucchini one sounds great...but no ingredient listing? Not good for me, and certainly not good for me making a souffle.
Still enjoying those spring colours on your photo.. and yes, I too want a nail polish that colour!

[Luisa]

Local palmita - here are a few stores in Berlin that, if you are interested in contacting them, could definitely be interested: the grocery section of Galeries Lafayette, the 6th floor of KaDeWe, the Frischeparadies chain, the specialty store Goldhahn & Sampson, the organic grocery chain Bio Company, and the organic store Kiepert & Kutzner.

Bori - it's cosmic payback for last year's miserable winter! :)

Veronica - the actual recipe is linked from the NYT page that I linked to...check in the lefthand column under Related Recipe. You should see a link to Zucchini Souffle. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/dining/05minirex.html?ref=dining

[Nuts about food]

Thank you local palmita for your suggestions. I will be sure to read up on an issue I know very little about.

[local palmita]

Thank you, Luisa, for your suggestions. Just to clarify: like many of this blog's readers, I am a home cook. I do not live in Germany or Europe. I do not work for a supplier or distributor of hearts of palm, although I have been in alliance with WORKERS in communities where palmitas are harvested.

We are each responsible for initiating change where we live--if you would like to see sustainably harvested palmitas in your community and they are not yet available, the best way to make that happen is to contact stores that you frequent and let them know that you would buy this product if it were available. You can suggest a brand but the store buyers will also know how to pursue the issue. As an outsider, I don't even know if the Berlin stores listed already carry these products or if there is an interest in them. That's where knowing the needs of a community becomes important.

It's another way of understanding the "local" movement--that making an effort to know the folks who are part of the supply, distribution, & consumption of food makes a difference in what happens in our communities--and that includes traditional stores as well as natural/organic spaces. The bodega across the street in my working class neighborhood supports a particular brand of palm hearts because there are (undocumented) immigrants here who suggested that brand rather than Roland, a transnational corporation. Organic palm hearts don't seem odd in the midst of the Wonder bread, white sugar, and Coca Cola---because it reflects what folks in my neighborhood want and eat---and support socially & politically. All it took was folks saying we will buy this product on a regular basis and we are willing to pay the price because we acknowledge that this is what it costs for folks elsewhere to have a living wage and to have a sustainable product (and it is cheaper here than in a place like Whole Foods or the usual urban organic market. Why? I suspect because the volume of sales--virtually guaranteed---is higher here).

That said, it seems possible that sustainable palmitas are distributed in some European countries and I look forward to folks reporting back that they are indeed available.

[Tyla]

I love the way the hearts of palm absorb the color of the oranges! So gorgeous! I actually just wrote a little article about hearts of palm for Saveur's March issue and the recipe for the hearts of palm fries is to diiiie for. You should definitely try it if you're a fan of their taste (but I like to add a bit more chipotle to the mayo than it calls for: http://bit.ly/ecmgg5)

[ali]

Mmmm. I love hearts of palm.

[Mrs. Stranded]

What a great recipe. I tried it today for lunch. I happened to have an avocado laying around so threw in 1/2 diced avocado as well. This recipe is a keeper!