Hearts of Palm Po' Boys with Cajun Mayo

Happy Thursday, readers! It has been an exciting week - on Saturday morning I taught my first indoor cycling class and it went incredibly well! I had a (COVID approved) full class, no technical problems and was told I exuded so much confidence no one even suspected I hadn't taught before. Since then, I've taught another cycling class and have been diligently practicing teaching a weight training class starting up soon; and of course I've also been cooking!

I've been making an effort to be more creative with my vegetarian recipes - less beans and tofu and more alternatives! It's been fun to test out different textures and flavor profiles; and during quarantine, what else are we all doing?

Hearts of Palm Po' Boys with Cajun Mayo

 

Hearts of Palm Po' Boys with Cajun Mayo

2 14 oz Cans Hearts of Palm; drained, dried and cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds

1 C Almond Milk

1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar or Lemon Juice

2 C Flour

1 Tsp Salt

2 Tsp Cayenne 

2 Tsp Paprika

1 Tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper

2 C Panko Breadcrumbs

Cooking Spray

Bolillo Rolls, for serving

1/4 C Fresh Dill, chopped

1/2 C Fresh Parsley, chopped

1/2 C Cajun Mayo (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. 

Prepare a dredging assembly line with 3 bowls. 

 

In the first bowl, stir together almond milk and vinegar or lemon juice and allow to sit until curdled, about 2 minutes. In the second bowl, stir together flour and seasonings. And the panko breadcrumbs in the final bowl. 

In batches, soak the hearts of palm rounds in the thickened milk mixture for 1 minute, coat in the seasoned flour, move back to the milk mixture and finally coat in the panko breadcrumbs. Place coated hearts of palm on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining hearts of palm rounds. Once all hearts of palm rounds have been coated, spray tops with more cooking spray. 

Bake hearts of palm for 20 minutes or until golden brown, flipping halfway through. 

Prepare a roll by coating the inside with Cajun mayo and make a bed of dill and parsley. Load up the roll with some baked hearts of palm and enjoy! These are especially tasty with a couple dashes of Tabasco Hot Sauce (these are Louisiana, inspired)! 

The baked hearts of palm rounds have a texture similar to a fried shrimp, which obviously makes them ideal for a Po' Boy! The mayo is tangy and flavorful and the herbs give everything a fantastic freshness to tie it all together.

Cajun Mayo

1 C Mayo (I'm a fan of Duke's)

Salt and Pepper, to Taste

1/4 Lemon, Juiced

1/2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/2 Tsp Paprika

1 Tsp Cajun Seasoning

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and do a taste check. Adjust seasoning accordingly.