Artichoke Hearts of Palm Cakes

I originally made these for my vegan friends, Monica, Nyomi and Aria.  I wanted them to have a delicious vegan entree at my restaurant.  What ended up happening is that everyone loved them, Not just vegans.  Meat eaters would often order them as an appetizer before their steak.   They weren't just "good for vegan food" they were good for everyone.  My daughters both love them and Melissa Madeline said that she stays full for a long time eating them for breakfast and finds she isn't as hungry for lunch.  Perhaps because they have a lot of protein in them.

Originally they were made with Jackfruit.  They sell Jackfruit in cans at Trader Joe's and other stores.  Jackfruit kind of looks like crab in the cake.  But for those of you who find that Jackfruit is hard to find or sounds weird, you can easily just double the garbanzo beans in the recipe in place of the jackfruit.

We recommend serving them with a fennel citrus slaw (recipe coming soon) or an arugula salad.  We also make a spicy vegan mayonnaise by combining Avocado oil based vegan mayonnaise with Crystal's Hot Sauce.  You can use whatever hot sauce you like.  If you are vegetarian or not vegan you can just use regular mayonnaise.

These hold well uncooked and can be made up to five days in advance.  Cooked versions also reheat well.  I've never tried freezing them because they are always gone before I have had the chance to try them.  


ARTICHOKE AND HEARTS OF PALM CAKES

Makes 22 to 24  4-inch cakes


4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 28-ounce can hearts of palm, drained and chopped (2 1/2 cups)
2 14-ounce cans artichoke hearts packed in water, chopped (2 1/2 cups)
20 ounce can jackfruit canned in water, chopped (2 cups) (if you don't have jackfruit then double the garbanzo beans)
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed drained and chopped (2 cups)
1 cup green onion, thinly sliced (optional)
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups panko
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons Plochman's mustard or other coarse grained mustard like Zatarain's, optional
1/2 cup Avocado Oil Vegan Mayonnaise (regular Mayonnaise can be substituted if making them vegetarian)


For the breading mixture:
6 cups of Panko


1/2 cup of Olive Oil for each batch you pan fry

My sauce:
1 cup Avocado Oil Vegan Mayonnaise (or regular mayonnaise)
Crystal's Hot Sauce to taste
Squeeze of fresh Lemon Juice

My daughter, Melissa's, sauce:
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1 cup Avocado Oil Vegan Mayonnaise (or regular mayonnaise)
1/2 teaspoon smoked or regular paprika
pinch of kosher salt
1 tablespoon sherry or rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon tomato paste
pinch of cayenne pepper if you want it spicier, optional



Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil until soft and transfer to a large bowl.  Add chopped hearts of palm, baby artichokes, jackfruit and garbanzo beans to the bowl and toss to combine.  Add in remaining ingredients and mix well.

Form mixture into 4-inch patties and dip in panko mixture to bread on all sides.  Set them aside on a pan lined with parchment paper or wax paper until you are ready to fry them.

They need a decent amount of olive oil in the pan to fry them.  Use about a half-cup of olive in a 9-inch skillet.  Heat to medium heat and cook until brown on both sides.  If serving to a large group for dinner then transfer to a baking pan lined with parchment paper and hold in a 350 degree oven until ready to serve.  They can also be cooked in advance and reheated in an oven.  (Remember only parchment paper can go in an oven not wax paper.  Wax paper will melt.)

You will need to pan fry them in batches because the leftover panko that comes of the cakes will burn in the oil.  I keep a metal bowl nearby for the trash because you don't want to put hot oil in the trash can.  I wipe the pan out with a paper towel and put it in the metal bowl with the extra oil and then put fresh oil in the pan to sauté the next batch of palm cakes.

We have two sauce options.  Mine is just a quick mayo hot sauce.  My daughter's is based on the Andalouse sauce she had with potatoes in Spain.  Her sauce was so delicious that I had to include it to.  To make either sauce just combine all the ingredients and stir well.

Serve the cakes warm with a garnish of sauce and with Fennel Citrus Slaw or Arugula Salad on the side.

Maili