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In celebration of Vegan MoFo, I’m doing a month of themed dinner party ideas! For the remaining days, I’m doing a Doctor Who theme! Today fish fingers & custard gets a vegan makeover with hearts of palm.
If I’ve learned anything from watching Doctor Who it’s that with the sadness of a goodbye comes the sweetness of a hello.
(And when a guy has two hearts, he knows a thing or two about heartbreak…)
As bummed as I was for David Tennant to be leaving the show after playing the title role for 5 years, Matt Smith won me over with his zest for life and good-natured spirit. (Although, I still consider David Tennant my Doctor.)
As I mentioned in my last Doctor Who party post about bowtie pasta salad, whenever the lead actor is ready to move on for whatever reason, he/she is then replaced with another actor.
It’s built into the script that the new Doctor has to figure out who he/she is with costumes, mannerisms, and sometimes even down to new taste buds.
When Matt Smith started as the Doctor he had his new friend, Amelia, make him a variety of foods to see what his new mouth enjoyed. While the young girl emptied the contents of her kitchen, he finally landed on the outlandish combination of fish fingers and custard.
As you may have guessed, this vegan blogger has taken some significant liberties with the fish fingers and custard. No fish were killed in the making of this dish and no custard either.
(Spoilers: there wasn’t any Wicked Witch in the Wicked Witch of the West Smoothie either. Yep, I used Mock Witch.)
Instead of fish I went for the flaky vegetable, hearts of palm. Canned or jarred hearts of palm has a flavor and texture that’s similar to jarred artichoke hearts. Its mild, briny flavor doesn’t taste ocean-y at all, but I prefer it that way!
(If you’re a fan of hearts of palm, you may be interested in trying my vegan ceviche as well!)
I lightly breaded and fried them, so that the hearts of palm itself could be the main flavor. However, if batter is your bag, I bet this beer batter would be pretty tasty on them.
In place of custard, I whipped up a creamy avocado dip, similar to guacamole.
(I tried doing a more conventional custard first, but I wouldn’t recommend it. For a minute there, I was worried I might regenerate…)
The salty & crisp hearts of palm have a lovely give in the center and work well with the tangy avocado for a mouthwatering appetizer, perfect for your next Who marathon.
Breaded Hearts of Palm & Avocado Dip
Ingredients
For Breaded Hearts of Palm
- 14 ounces hearts of palm from can or jar, drained
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- Pinch salt & pepper
- ½ cup non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- Canola oil for shallow frying
- 1 Tablespoon fresh basil chopped (Optional garnish)
For avocado dip
- 1 avocado pitted
- ½ teaspoon lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Dash cayenne pepper
- Dash hot sauce
- Salt to taste
Instructions
To Make Breaded Hearts of Palm
- Pat the hearts of palm dry with a kitchen towel. Slice each heart of palm in half length-wise.
- On a dinner plate, combine all purpose flour, bread crumbs, thyme, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix the rice milk with corn starch until smooth with no lumps.
- Before you begin breading the hearts of palm, heat a skillet to a medium heat with a shallow amount of canola oil on the bottom. (I needed 2-3 Tablespoons.)
- While the oil heats, dip each heart of palm piece into the milk mixture and then roll it in the flour & bread crumb mixture. Set each breaded heart of palm aside on a separate plate.
- Once all of the hearts of palm are breaded, cut a small piece off of one and put it into the oil. If the oil bubbles around it, it’s ready for frying.
- Put the hearts of palm into the oil (working in batches, if necessary, so as to not overcrowd). Fry each side for about two minutes, until browned.
- Remove the hearts of palm from the pan and move onto a separate plate, covered in a kitchen towel or paper towels to sop up any extra oil.
- Lightly salt & pepper the hearts of palm, garnish with chopped fresh basil, and serve immediately with avocado dip. (You'll likely have extra breading left over. Put it in a freezer bag and keep it in the freezer for future frying needs or in case the Doctor should drop by unannounced.)
To Make Avocado Dip
- Remove the avocado from its peel and put it into a bowl with the remaining ingredients. Fully mash the avocado mixture with a fork until smooth. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Somer says
I am seriously missing out, I want to pull a Dr. Who all nighter with you while eating this scrupmtiousness….. I’ll bring Monte Cristo’s 😉
Cadry says
I can’t think of a more delightful evening! It’s a date! 😀
FoodFeud says
I haven’t seen any Dr. Who but I hear good things. Plus, I’m always in when food is involved ;). I like the breaded hearts of palm idea! Sounds really interesting.
I have a hard time finding even mock witch in these parts…
Cadry says
Color me disillusioned! I thought you could find anything in New York! 😉
Abby says
I’ve never watched Dr. Who, but I love hearts of palm and eat a few avocados a week. In fact, I’m eating one right now! Fun recipe 😉
Cadry says
Yes, avocados make everything better!
Maggie Muggins says
That’s a pretty smart idea they came up with for the show, if an actor quits, there’s not some awkward moment were there’s someone different playing the same person and they just expect you to ignore it. It’s like the show never has to end, ever!
I’ve never had hearts of palm, I always imagined it would taste similar to artichoke, I have no idea why, but am I close? Either way, I like your spin on fish sticks with custard (ew!) yours sounds and looks much, much more appetizing 🙂
Cadry says
Yes, it’s a pretty genius character quirk that he regenerates into a new person whenever he “dies.” It’s something you could only get away with in science fiction! It was a concept they created when the show was only a couple of years old in the 60’s. The actor playing the Doctor at the time had an illness that involved the hardening of the arteries and caused memory problems and such. He needed to leave, but since the show was so popular, they needed to come up with an alternative to canceling. It makes it almost like a new show when a different Doctor comes onboard and makes new traveling companions. It creates buzz and energy around the show. There’s risk that the audience won’t gel with the new Doctor and the show will tank, but so far they’ve done a pretty good job with casting. I’ve really liked all three Doctors in the new series, and from the old episodes I’ve watched, they were consistent too. It certainly works better than on soap operas (Young & the Restless comes to mind) when one day an old character suddenly looks totally different!
I should have mentioned in the post how hearts of palm tastes! I’ll go and add that. But you’re right, jarred hearts of palm tastes similar to jarred artichoke hearts, especially around the stem area of the heart.
chow vegan says
Yum! What a great idea to bread hearts of palm! I normally just toss them into a salad as is. 🙂
Cadry says
Yes, they’re great in salads too! Another favorite way of eating them is in a hearts of palm ceviche. http://cadryskitchen.com/2010/03/23/eat-your-heart-out/
Chef Amber Shea says
I am LOVING the Doctor Who theme this week!! I got attached to Chris Eccleston, but then really fell in love with David Tennant. I’m STILL not 100% on board with Matt Smith, but I know that’s mainly because I fell so hard for DT. 🙂
Cadry says
Yay! I’m glad to find another Doctor Who fan! My viewing experience sounds like it was just like yours! I was so attached to Eccleston, and I didn’t think I could get onboard with Tennant. Then Tennant completely won me over. He’s just so likable! I like Matt Smith a lot, but he still hasn’t surpassed Tennant for me. (Surprisingly, my husband prefers Smith.)
I’ve been re-watching the new series recently from the 2005 beginning, and it’s strange to see Eccleston again after getting used to these two new doctors. I have to say, I liked him better the first time around. In some episodes, he comes off as a jerk, which I didn’t remember.
Chef Amber Shea says
I’m overdue for a re-watching of those early episodes, myself! 😉
GiGi says
As you already know I have not experience the Doctor Who series, but alas I have experienced hearts of palm as a stand-in for fish. I ‘ve made crab cakes from hearts of palm.
Great recipe Cadry!! I have never tried mockwitch.
Cadry says
Oh, hearts of palm would be great in a crab cake-style recipe! Do you have it posted on your blog?
Kristy says
I was just thinking about fish sticks recently- I went through a crazy amount when I was kid. I never, in a million years, would have thought to use hearts of palm as a replacement. I think I’m going to try this because Maxwell just informed me that he’s trying to become vegetarian during the week, but he really likes fish (have you ever heard of such a thing? A 12 year old who likes fish???). I wonder if he might find this to be a suitable substitute? If he doesn’t like them, I know I will- they look great! 🙂
Cadry says
What great news about Maxwell! Good for him! I think you’d like these breaded hearts of palm, but they don’t taste like fish. The only similarity is the flakiness. I purposely didn’t add any nori flakes to them, because I’m not into seaweed at all. There are a few frozen items on the market now that emulate fish sticks. You could check those out for Maxwell! For me, I was always more into the breading and malt vinegar than I was eating the fish. So Isa’s beer battered tofu in Vegan Brunch is probably my favorite for that purpose.
Caitlin says
i never thought to bread hearts of palm. how genius! the dip looks great, too 😉
Cadry says
I usually just have them plain too in salads or diced into “ceviche” with lime juice, avocado, and onions. But if you need to add more “fried” into your life, this is a tasty way to do it! 😉
Amanda says
Brilliant idea, Cadry! I have a can of hearts of palm in the cupboard, that I picked up on a whim and have never known what to do with them. Thanks for the inspiration.
Cadry says
Oh, that’s great! For something on the non-fried side, I also recommend hearts of palm ceviche for an appetizer. http://cadryskitchen.com/2010/03/23/eat-your-heart-out/
Jenny says
BREADED hearts of palm? I’m speechless. That sounds so good. I love h of p.
Cadry says
Thanks, Jenny! I love hearts of palm too, but I don’t use it nearly enough. Always good to have some new ways to try it! 🙂
Melissa says
This recipe sounds delicious!! I can never get enough avocado.
Cadry says
Me neither! Avocado is the best!
luminousvegans says
I absolutely adore hearts of palm AND avocados…this looks like a winning combo. Yum!
Cadry says
Yes, a winning combo for sure! 🙂