Happy New Year!!!! Can I get a "woot woot" for 2018? I'm giddily jumping in and starting off this year's recipes with a real ohh ahh bang: hello, Heart of Palm Calamari!
Do you see that photo? Yeah, pretty dang cool if I do say so myself. A new vegan restaurant moved into town (woot woot!) and although I have yet to visit it, I have heard rumours of their vegan calamari. Always the impatient one I needed to make it for myself ASAP. The resto uses mushrooms for their version but after a bit of googling and coming across a recipe from One Green Planet, I decided heart of palms were just the thing I wanted to use.
Tender, flaky, crispy fried rings of deliciousness with a squeeze of lemon. Yes please, I'll have 10 orders. When heart of palm is sliced you can pop out the center making these perfect little rings. How cute are they? This vegan calamari is more on the tender side than traditional calamari (it's not chewy), but that makes this heart of palm calamari recipe even better in my opinion!
If you are new to heart of palm, believe it or not, it's usually available canned in almost any grocery store. There are even three different brand options in my local grocery store! This tropical veg stole my heart (ba dum dum tsk!) as a perfect seafood substitute because of it's tender, flaky texture and mild taste. I've already used it a few times in my cookbook, Fuss-Free Vegan, but I'm thrilled it's making it's first blog debut today!
Note: if you're concerned about the sustainability of heart of palms, rest assured that, unlike some palm oils, most canned varieties of this veggie comes from farmed peach palms. Just check with the brand you are purchasing to be sure.
To make Heart of Palm Calamari: Slice the heart of palm into 1 inch slices. Then you should be able to pop out the center of each slice to make a ring. Some heart of palm is a bit on the smaller side and may be too small for the center to pop out, and that's ok, those solid slices will work just as well.
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and garlic powder.
Cover the bottom of a skillet with about ¼ inch of oil and put over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, take a handful of heart of palm rings (which should still be wet from draining). Dredge the rings in the flour mixture shaking off the excess, and carefully drop them into the hot oil. Repeat with the remaining heart of palm. You may need to do this in batches so your pan isn't too crowded. Fry, turning the pieces until they are lightly golden all over. Drain on paper towel. Serve hot garnishing as desired.
Heart of Palm Calamari
Ingredients
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt (plus more for garnish)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- oil for frying
- 1 398ml can heart of palm, drained, cut into 1" pieces, rings separated
Optional garnishes:
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- 1 handful parsley, chopped
- Aioli (page 208 in Fuss-Free Vegan), marinara, or tartar sauce (page 144 in Fuss-Free Vegan), for dipping
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and garlic powder.
- Cover the bottom of a skillet with about ¼ inch of oil and put over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, take a handful of heart of palm rings (which should still be wet from draining). Dredge the rings in the flour mixture shaking off the excess, and carefully drop them into the hot oil. Repeat with the remaining heart of palm. You may need to do this in batches so your pan isn't too crowded. Fry turning the pieces until they are lightly golden all over. Drain on paper towel. Serve hot garnishing as desired.
Nutrition
Bon appetegan!
Sam.
Ashley says
Made this today and it was AMAZING! I used almond flour (gluten free) and Tony Chachere’s AND extra garlic.
Brienna says
As a long time vegan I finally got my boyfriend to agree to do Veganuary and this was my introductory dish. He loved it, I’m equally as obsessed. I feel like I always see recipes using mushroom as a seafood substitute, I can’t believe this is the first I’ve heard of this super take!
Teresa Harris says
Sam I’m considering making these for a Christmas appetizer. What are your thoughts on adding nori flakes or wakame flakes to create a bit of a fish flavor??
Melissa says
This recipe is awesome! I make it often. It works great baked in the oven with almond flour for a low carb option also. Poppable! And also can save and re-heat in toaster oven next day for your lunch. Yum yum yum. Love it.
Mark says
All I can find is canned heart of palm. Will that still work?
Sam Turnbull says
Yep! That's what I use 🙂
Kris says
These were really good! Originally, I tried baking them and it didn't work out. The flour was too powdery and the texture was off. I then tried frying them and the texture was a lot better!!
C says
It was very good, got eaten up real quick - even by the kiddos (:
I did add more salt to the flour mixture though, it seemed a tad bland.
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed!!
Dawn says
I can’t find any hearts of palm cut like calamari with the center out!! What would you suggest?
Donna says
Air fryer worked really well. Tried without any oil (yum) and with dipping in melted coconut oil prior to coating and air frying (double yum). Both great.
Diana says
Hi there! What were the setting on your air fryer? Thanks 🙂
Donna Schaer says
It was set to 450 and 25 minutes. My fryer is part of a Cuisinart oven, so the setting itself was "air fry."
I used a mix of almond flour and arrowroot flour, as I am gluten free. I added dried parsley, with garlic an onion powder. I tried it two different ways: the first was without any oil and the second batch was dipped in melted coconut oil before being coated. Both ways tasted fine and are Wahls Protocol compliant.
Diana says
Awesome thank you! 🙂
Jen says
Love this recipe. We made it with half flour, half cornmeal and it was amazing!
Saras says
We just tried this recipe and it was soooo good!! and so easy!! Thank you <3
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! So happy you loved it!
Laurie says
What do you suggest you use the innards for?
Sam Turnbull says
You can fry them up as well!
AJ says
Is there a substitute for cornstarch?
Sam Turnbull says
You could use arrowroot powder 🙂
Rochelle says
These were fun to make and my first time trying heart of palm! It had a fibrous texture instead of chewy, and they were delicious and light.
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Allie says
Can almond flour be used instead of all-purpose flour?
Sam Turnbull says
I believe that should work just fine. ENjoy!
S says
HI, Its such great presentation, and what a good idea....
Do you have any "Alternate" to Hearts of Palm?
Palm Tree is very important to the Habitat of ORANGUTANGS which are going completely extinct because of "harvesting" of Palm.
Sam Turnbull says
Thank you! As noted above in my article if you’re concerned about the sustainability of heart of palms, rest assured that, unlike some palm oils, most canned varieties of this veggie comes from farmed peach palms, and do not affect the orangutangs. Just check with the brand you are purchasing to be sure. But otherwise, you could try mushrooms. Enjoy!
Myra Pegues says
Love your new informative answer. Thanks for sharing!
Amanda says
can you bake these ? Im trying to loose weight ?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Amanda, these wouldn't work to bake them, but I do have lots of other recipes that are lower calorie in my recipe index. Hope that helps!
Lee says
How about an air fryer?
Sam Turnbull says
I haven't tried them but I imagine they would be a little dry. Maybe try spraying with oil first?
Donna Schaer says
I used my air fryer setting on a Cuisinart toaster oven. They were crisp and delicious.
Alexandria Phillips says
These were a hit across the board!! All of the kids devoured them.
Sam Turnbull says
That's awesome! Thrilled they were enjoyed 🙂
Srivani says
Made these last night and they were AMAZING! Super easy (I just put the flour/corn starch mixture into a big Ziploc bag and shook to coat the rings). And even more importantly, my picky 4 1/2 year old daughter absolutely LOVED them. Definitely going to make these when no one is around to share with! Hahaha
Sam Turnbull says
Bahahaha! Love it!! Great idea about the bag. I'll do that next time too 🙂
Cole says
Your recipes never fail. This one was awesome!
Jill says
Where can I find hearts of palm? It is different than artichoke hearts?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Jill, yes, it's a totally different plant. I can generally be found in any grocery store in the canned vegetable section. Enjoy!
Lynn says
This is a great idea! Love your creativity. Do you think panko bread crumbs would work? I like them extra crispy!
Sam Turnbull says
Thank you 🙂 Panko isn't traditional for calamari but you could definitely try it. You would likely need to make a chia or flax egg dip to get the panko to stick. Enjoy!
Cheryl Titcher says
Oh my goodness!! I'm stopping to get heart of palm on my way home tonight! If we get snowed in tomorrow, THIS will be what's for lunch!
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo! Enjoy 🙂