Off The Counter: Hearts Of Palm Salad

 My mother-in-law introduced me to hearts of palm [in a salad] almost 24 years ago when we first met.  She would combine them with coarsely cut tomatoes, peppers, and red onions, and often serve this summer staple with a baguette (for those of us who wanted to soak up every bit of its delicious dressing).  Needless to say, plenty of chilled wine accompanied the salad and the rest of the meal.

For some reason the salad disappeared from our culinary repertoire for many years, but recently it resurfaced.  In a big way.  Just last week, I stopped by Natalia's place and she made me my very own hearts of palm salad.  We reminisced about the salads of the past and their unique, refreshing flavors.

I was so delighted to have been reunited with the "palms", that I've began making this salad myself.  Take a look and read all about the ingredients below:

Ingredients:

Hearts of palm, tomatoes, peppers, red onion, olive oil, lemon, cilantro or basil, salt and pepper.

Instructions:

Thinly slice the red onion and let it soak in olive oil (this helps take the bite out of it).  Then coarsely cut the remaining ingredients and add them to the onions.   Drizzle with a little more olive oil (if needed) and freshly squeezed lemon juice.  Add the herb of choice.  Natalia adds cilantro, basil or parsley, whatever she has at hand.  I've been using Thai basil.  Any of these herbs add a unique twist to the salad.  Salt and pepper it to your liking and enjoy.  Don't forget the baguette!