This summer I spent time with my family – 36 of them (only two were unable to attend)! Siblings, nieces and nephews, everyone’s spouses and their children gathered together for my mom’s 90th birthday. It was a grand event … or should I say events, as the celebration started on a Friday night and didn’t officially end until Sunday evening, with most everything, except golf, involving food (though I understand there were a few delicious hot dogs consumed on the course, as well). That’s the way my family rolls – lots of good food, drink and merriment. By the end of the weekend, here’s what my mom looked like … tired and happy. 
There were plenty of good eats – grilled steaks one night; fresh shucked oysters, lamb chops, crab cakes, crispy side pork, chicken wings, fresh greens from the garden and new baby potatoes from my brother’s farm for the grand party the next night; followed by roasted Cornish hens, creamy potato salad, my Black Bean & Corn salsa/salad (5-1-13 blog post) and the best meatballs in mushroom sauce you every tasted (I’ll share my sister-in-law Marion’s recipe – when I squeeze it out of her), and a plethora of appetizers on the final night of the weekend celebration. Here’s where this tasty heart of palm recipe comes in.
I love heart of palm and have shared several recipes that use it – mostly in various kinds of salads. But my sister Elaine put this little gem together for our Sunday gathering and it was a hit. She could have quadrupled what she made and everyone would still be asking for more. The best part – it has two ingredients! Heart of palm and Italian prosciutto ham.
Love it!
The most challenging issue: separating those skinny, skinny slices of ham ☺
I’m not even going to give you quantities for this recipe – just get a can or jar of heart of palm (very reasonably priced at Costco, by the way) and a package of sliced prosciutto and make as many of these little darlings as you can … because all of them will get eaten … immediately!
Heart of Palm with Prosciutto
Slice heart of palm stalks into ½ to 1-inch rounds and wrap in ½ slice of prosciutto. Use a toothpick to hold together if necessary.
Place on serving platter; dust with freshly ground pepper.
Garnish with sprigs of parsley if you like, but I’m telling you, these won’t stay on the plate long enough for anyone to admire the setting.
I also put a salad together the other night, using this combination. If, by chance, you have some heart of palm left over from the appetizer, try it:
Heart of Palm & Prosciutto Salad
To chopped leaf lettuce I added:
2 stalks of sliced heart of palm
3 slices of chopped prosciutto, lightly fried
½ avocado, cubed
¼ cup mini mozzarella balls
6 stuffed green olives, sliced
1 mini red pepper, thinly sliced
Then I dressed the combination with Jane’s Crazy Mixed-up Salt & pepper, olive oil, a small squeeze of lemon and a dash of red wine vinegar. (Of course, the avocado, mozzarella, olives and pepper were all items I had on hand in my fridge.)
Result: my husband, Michael, loved it. Life is good; food makes it even better!
Eat well, be happy.
Plynn Gutman 