Product Description
Heart of palm, also called palm heart, palmito, chonta or swamp cabbage, is a vegetable harvested from the inner core and growing bud of certain palm trees (notably the coconut (Cocos nucifera), Palmito Juçara (Euterpe edulis), Açaí palm (Euterpe oleracea), sabal (Sabal spp.) and pejibaye (Bactris gasipaes) palms). It is costly because harvesting in the wild kills the tree. Heart of palm is often eaten in a salad, sometimes called "millionaire's salad," and also in vegetarian spreads.
An alternative to wild heart of palm are palm varieties which have undergone a process of adaptation to become a domesticated farm species. The main variety that has been domesticated is the botanical species Bactris gasipaes, known in Ecuador as “chontaduro,” in Costa Rica as “pejibaye”, and in English as the “peach palm.”
Peach palms are self-suckering and produce multiple stems,[1] up to 40 on one plant, so harvesting several stems from a plant is not so expensive because the plant can live on. Another advantage it has over other palms is that it has been selectively bred to eliminate the vicious thorns of its wild cousins. Since harvesting is still a labor intensive task, palm hearts are regarded as a delicacy.
At present, Costa Rica is the primary source of fresh palm hearts in the US. Peach palm is also cultivated in Hawaii,[1] and now has limited distribution on the mainland, but mostly only to the restaurant trade.
Brazil was the highest producer of uncultivated hearts of palm, but in the 1990s its quality went down. This left the market open for Ecuador to export its cultivated hearts of palm. Ecuador is now one of the main producers of hearts of palm. France is the largest importer of hearts of palm.
[edit] Harvesting heart of palm
When harvesting the cultivated young palm, the tree is cut down and the bark is removed leaving layers of white fibers around a center core. During processing the fibers are removed leaving the center core or heart of palm. The center core is attached to a slightly more fibrous cylindrical base with a larger diameter. The entire cylindrical center core and the attached base are edible. The center core is considered more of a delicacy because of its lower fiber content.
Empadão de Palmito
Ingredientes:
MASSA PODRE:
- 500g de farinha de trigo peneirada
- 150g de banha de porco
- 125g de manteiga sem sal gelada e picada
- 1/4 xícara (chá) de água gelada
- 1 colher (chá) de sal
- 3 gemas
CREME DE PALMITO:
- 2 dentes de alho socados
- 1/3 xícara (chá) de óleo/azeite de boa qualidade
- 1 cebola grande picadinha ou ralada
- 2 tomates sem pele e sem sementes picadinhos
- 1 vidro grande de palmitos picados
- 1 lata de ervilha em conserva
- 1/2 xícara (chá) de azeitonas verdes picadinhas
- 1 tablete de caldo de galinha
- 3 colheres (sopa) de salsinha verde picadinha
- Sal, molho de pimenta e temperos a gosto
- 1 xícara (chá) de água filtrada ou água do palmito
- 2/3 xícara (chá) de farinha de trigo (aproximadamente)
Modo de Preparo:
MASSA PODRE:
Coloque numa tigela grande todos os ingredientes secos e as gorduras geladas e picadas. Vá esfarelando com a ponta dos dedos até obter uma "farofa" úmida.
Em seguida, junte a mistura de água com as gemas e amasse delicadamente até obter uma massa lisa, macia e homogênea. Leve à geladeira por 40 minutos e empregue na montagem.
CREME DE PALMITO:
Doure o alho no azeite, junte a cebola, os tomates e refogue muito bem. Vá juntando os demais ingredientes, deixe abrir fervura e tempere a gosto.
Em fogo baixo, junte em "chuva" a farinha de trigo e vá mexendo rapidamente até obter um creme homogêneo, porém, firme. Empregue quando frio.
MONTAGEM:
Com 2/3 da massa forre o fundo e lados de uma torteira com 24cm de diâmetro e 4cm de altura. Fure com um garfo, espalhe o creme de palmito e cubra com um disco de massa aberta fina, apertando muito bem as bordas. Em seguida, pincele a superfície com a gema e decore com rolinhos de massa cruzados, formando um xadrez. Pincele os rolinhos com gema e leve ao forno pré-aquecido a 200ºC, assando até que esteja bem dourada. Sirva morna ou fria.
RENDIMENTO:
- 1 empadão grande
- Tempo de preparo: 1h30
- Tempo de forno: 50 minutos (aproximadamente)