I know that my product reviews as of late have been all about Trader Joe's and the products that they sell. How could I not? They make it so easy to see something new to try. I have been seeing the Hearts of Palm pasta on their shelves for a long time now and never tried it. A friend of mine had suggested it recently as she told me how good it was. Honestly her description is what made me more curious about it.
Before we talk about the pasta, let's talk about what Heart of Palm is. Heart of Palm is a vegetable harvested from the inner core and growing bud of most palm trees. The most common being the coconut, acai palm, peach palm and palmetto.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way. I've had vegetable pasta before, most notably zucchini pasta. I find zucchini noodles just taste like zucchini of course which is fine because zucchini is delicious but it tends to become too soft and affects the flavor of the sauce. Again that is not a bad thing, but sometimes I just want something that will take on a little more of the flavor of the sauce that I am accompanying the vegetable pasta with. Between you, me and the entire world, I still prefer good old fashioned pasta of course. But sometimes we just want that healthier alternative.
In this image above you will find the Hearts of Palm pasta that I cooked along with my wife's delicious chicken cacciatore. As you can see after only 5 minutes of cooking, the vegetable pasta still maintains a pasta appearance. Remember this is a vegetable cut into a pasta shape much like zucchini noodles would be. The difference is that the vegetable is more dense and has a much fresher and better flavor. Unlike zucchini noodles, the hearts of palm does allow some of the sauce flavor to take over its flavor profile. After a few bites, I did not exactly believe I was eating pasta but it sure became a closer alternative than the zucchini noodles. I enjoyed my second helping as much as the first. The point is, there was a second helping.
I found the Hearts of Palm pasta to be a tasty and healthier alternative to pasta itself that actually sustained my hunger. I would definitely recommend this vegetable pasta to willing to do so. Head out to your nearest Trader Joe's and try a box. Enjoy!
