Palmini aka Hearts of Palm Pasta with Arugula Pesto Sauce

Palmini aka Hearts of Palm Pasta with Arugula Pesto Sauce

Newest obsession alert- Palmini aka Hearts of Palm “Pasta”! As you know I am always looking for healthy alternatives for food and my only question here is how did I not know about this sooner??

Hearts of palm is a vegetable from the inner core of a palm tree. It is high in protein and fiber and low in carbs. You can mostly buy it in a can which isn’t my favorite thing since cans can contain a harmful coating but if you make sure your can says “bpa free” then you should be okay.

To make the “pasta”, the hearts of palm are cut up into a linguine shape. Once you open the can, you just need to rinse them with water. Then add to a pan with your favorite sauce or ingredients and heat up. It literally takes no time to prepare. The palmini has almost no taste on it’s own and when sauce is added, you can hardly taste the difference from regular pasta. I would describe it as a slightly citrus-y and very al dente pasta.

I used Miracle Noodle Hearts of Palm Pasta and added sun dried tomatoes and coated in my homemade arugula pesto sauce. Let me know if you try this and your thoughts!

Ingredients

Arugula Pesto

Arugula (1 cup)
Walnuts (handful, about 1/4 cup)
Almonds (handful, 1/4 cup) (Soaked overnight is best. Soak in water for about 12 hours and then peel off skin, comes off right away once squeezed between 2 fingers. We do this because the skin contains tannin which prevents nutrient absorpotion.)
Garlic (1 clove)
Parmesan (2 teaspoons)
Salt (1/4 teaspoon)
Pepper (1/4 teaspoon)
Olive Oil (3-4 tablespoons)

“Pasta”

Miracle Noodle Hearts of Palm Pasta (1-2 cans, 2 cans will feed 2-3 people)
Sun dried tomatoes (handful)

Instructions

1. Add all pesto ingredients into a food processor and blend well. Add more olive oil if it looks dry. Can also do half arugula and half spinach if you don’t like the bitter taste of arugula.
2. Rinse hearts of palm pasta under water.
3. Add to pan with sun dried tomatoes and pesto.
4. Mix well and warm up on medium heat. Cook about 5 minutes, until the dish is hot.
5. Serve immediately. (Sprinkle parmesan on top if you’d like!)