Palm Heart, Cherry Tomato, Plum and Shiso with Dave Falvey, Waxflower

‘When it comes to creating a recipe my influences take place through a memorable dish, place or in this case, an ingredient. Palm heart was an ingredient I first came across in Peru, where I had it fresh, next to a piece of grilled Amazonian fish. The palm heart was subtle yet flavourful and with the texture of good globe artichokes.'

We source our palm hearts from Yan and Heather on Queensland’s Cassowary Coast. They grow suckering palms, a variety that produces more than one vertical stem, allowing for a sustainable harvest. Picked on demand and with the outer husk intact, Yan and Heather’s palm hearts are versatile in any cooking method yet fresh and unique. Dave’s method of poaching the palm heart is a first for us. Just as mentioned, the globe artichoke texture pairs perfectly with peak season cherry tomatoes.

Yan's palm heart, cherry tomatoes, shiso, pangrattato, charred plum vinaigrette

Ingredients

For the poached palm heart:

1kg fresh Palm Heart
100g white vinegar
50g salt
1L water

For the charred plum vinaigrette:

200g Queen Garnet blood plums
50g Wild Mother Black Cherry vinegar
150g neutral oil
salt to taste

For the pangrattato:

250g breadcrumbs
½ lemon, zested
20g dried oregano
1 large pinch sea salt
1 good splash Honest Toil unfiltered extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. To poach the palm hearts, place the vinegar, salt and water in a large pot and bring to the boil
   
   
2. Peel the outer husk off the palm heart and cut the heart into 4 pieces
   
   
3. Add the prepared palm heart to the boiling water and bring back up to the boil
   
   
4. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and cook until a wooden skewer can easily go through the pieces - 30 to 45 minutes
   
   
5. Once cooked, place the palm hearts in an ice water bath to cool down rapidly. Reserve the cooking liquid as this can be used as a brine to preserve the palm hearts
   
   
6. To make the plum vinaigrette, prepare a charcoal barbecue if accessible. If not, get a saute pan sizzling hot
   
   
7. Cut the blood plums in half and remove the stone
   
   
8. Char Grill or saute the cut side until almost burnt. Place the grilled plums into a bowl and cover to steam and cool
   
   
9. Once cooled, peel the plums and place in a blender. Add the Aji Amarillo paste, Wild Mother vinegar and a good pinch of salt
   
   
10. Blitz on high to combine all ingredients, then turn down to low speed and slowly drip in oil to emulsion. Season with salt to taste
    
    
11. For the pangrattato, preheat an oven to 170C
    
    
12. Mix all ingredients together and place on an oven proof tray
    
    
13. Bake for roughly 30 minutes, making sure to stir the breadcrumbs every 10 minutes. Cook until golden brown
    

Assemble

In a large mixing bowl, mix 400g halved cherry tomatoes, 100g shredded poached palm heart, 60g charred plum vinaigrette and 30g pangrattato. Season with salt and pepper. Divvy up between 6 small plate or 1 bowl for family style service. Garnish with chiffonade red shiso. Serve with your favourite toasty bread