You know what’s the greatest?
When you get a new outfit or shirt and are really excited to where it (because you secretly think it’s the cutest thing ever) and you show up at some event and your best friend’s cousin, that you don’t really like but are nice to anyway, is wearing the same thing. Even worse, you see someone in the grocery store wearing it with stained pajama pants and a cat purse! Has that ever happened to you?
Well, maybe not the cat purse, but you get my point. When I was younger it was always the worst if it was someone younger than me wearing the same thing as me because then I thought I must look younger in it. That’s tough when your 11 and think you are so old.
I was thinking of this at the end of one of my jumbled trains of thought, (My mind can be a pretty crazy place to be sometimes) but I’m not sure how I got there. Do you do that? It start’s with thinking of your weekend plans to see a new movie with your sister and ends with you remembering that your shower needs to be scrubbed.
Anyway, I was just wondering about the odds of anyone else on the planet in the history of all mankind ever eating this salad. I decided that even still they are pretty slim chances, but I guess it’s not all together impossible. It’s just such a random combination. I caramelized hearts of palm, which are very common and popular here but I’ve never seen them done like this, and then made some of my favorite walnut pesto into a dressing and through in everything else that sounded good. I made it on a bed of ribboned zucchini because I was out of lettuce. Plus, I prefer non-lettuce based salads anyway.
It just doesn’t seem like anyone else could have made this exact thing, right? I may be over estimating my uniqueness.
It’s like on Madgascar when the lion tells the zebra that he is black with white stripes while all of the other zebras are white with black stripes. I can’t help that I know this. Brock and Sophie love those movies so I’ve seen them a few times, okay!
Well, I’m hoping that whether or not this has ever been made before, it will be made now when I share it with you guys. The combination is really good together and, while all of the toppings are great, my sister and I had to agree that the hearts of palm are definitely the highlight of the whole thing. I really liked this dressing too. Of course, I’m the type of pesto lover that would like to drink it by itself, but I think the balance of basil, salty, sweet, and sour was just about perfect in it, even if you aren’t as crazy about it as I am.
This is a great side salad for a diner party or it can be a main course with some meat or maybe chickpeas. We had it with pizza and it complemented the flavors perfectly.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup prepared pesto (I used the pesto in this recipe but store bought is fine)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 can hearts of palm (I used pre-cut rounds but if using the longer ones just chop into smaller pieces)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (or regular)
- salt & pepper
- 1 large zucchini
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 1 medium avocado, diced
- 1 cup sweet whole kernal corn
- 1 cup fresh blackberries
- 1 small bunch of fresh basil leaves, shredded
Instructions
- Whisk ingredients for dressing in a medium bowl until smooth. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a medium frying pan and add hearts of palm, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Saute, stirring occasionally, for about 6 minutes or until the edges turn a nice golden brown. Remove from heat and cool while prepping salad.
- Use a potato peeler to grate zucchini into ribbons and toss in a bowl with palm hearts and other ingredients for salad.
- Add dressing to taste and serve immediately or refrigerate without dressing for no more than 3 hours.
Wow, so colorful! This looks delicious – a great lighter meal especially for those of us heading into spring. I’ve never found myself wearing the same thing as someone who paired it with stained pajama pants, but I definitely once ran into a woman 50 years older than I am (and about 50 pounds heavier) wearing the same shirt. I didn’t quite feel the same about that shirt afterward…
I’ve never heard or tried hearts of palm before! I definitely need to keep my eye out for some!
You should, they are an awesome ingredient! Thank you, Thalia!