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Ensalada de chonta
Ensalada de chonta: Iquitos salad of fresh palm-heart ribbons with tomato, avocado and lime
Iquitos restaurants and the riverside cafés of the Peruvian Amazon serve ensalada de chonta as a cool counterpoint to grilled fish and juanes: long, pale ribbons of fresh palm heart, crisp and faintly sweet, tossed with tomato, avocado, red onion and lots of lime. At Belén market you can watch sellers shave the chonta into curls with a big knife. Outside the Amazon, fresh palm heart is hard to find, but good jarred hearts of palm cut into thin strips work well, and the salad becomes a ten-minute job. It's crunchy, juicy and sharp, perfect with rice and beans or any fried snack. Where most people go wrong is adding the avocado and salt early, so the salad turns soupy and grey; dress it at the last moment. Chef's tip: slice the palm hearts lengthwise on a mandoline or with a peeler for thin, curling ribbons that look like the Iquitos original.
- Total time
- 15 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Cut 14 oz palm hearts lengthwise into long, thin ribbons with a sharp knife or a vegetable peeler. Rinse jarred palm hearts in cold water first and pat dry.
Step 2: Toss the palm ribbons with ½ red onion and 2 tomatoes on a platter.
Step 3: Whisk 3 tbsp lime juice, 1 tbsp olive oil and ½ tsp salt together until the salt dissolves.
Step 4: Just before serving, scatter 1 avocado and ⅓ oz coriander leaves over the salad, pour the dressing over and toss gently once. Serve straight away.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 150 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 12 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ensalada de chonta take?
- About 15 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of red onion?
- White onion or shallots, same amount (soak raw onion in cold water for 10 minutes to soften it).
- What can I use instead of tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
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