Hearts of Palm Salad

The first time that I tried hearts of palm was in my third year of law school. I was working for a solo-practitioner at the time. At lunch time every day, she would gather me and her daughter, who was the receptionist, and we would sit in the conference room and have our lunches. We would chat about all sorts of things during this hour – family, cases, and law school. But mostly we talked about food. She adored raw tomatoes, would eat them like they were fruit. I was skeptical of this practice of eating whole tomatoes like they were apples, but I enjoyed watching her indulge in something she truly loved. One day, she brought in a can of hearts of palm, put them in a bowl with some ripe tomatoes, and added a little salad dressing. She asked me to try – she said that I would love it. And I did. The texture of the hearts of palm was so different than anything I had really eaten before. A little crunchy, a little soft, a little artichoke-ish. But overall, just good.

Hearts of Palm Salad
Serves 2-3

¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tsp. dried basil
2 T white wine vinegar
1 1b. plum tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 14 oz. can Hearts of Palm, drained, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk oil, basil, and vinegar in a bowl to blend. Add the other ingredients and toss to blend. Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Epicurious.