Breton-Style Vegan Hearts of Palm

Using your hands or two forks, shred the drained hearts of palm lengthways into coarse, irregular strands roughly 5–7cm long. Pat thoroughly dry with kitchen paper and set aside. Measure out and prepare all remaining ingredients: slice shallots, mince garlic, crumble nori, chop capers and herbs, cube vegan butter, zest and juice lemon.

Toss the shredded hearts of palm with 2 tbsp olive oil, smoked paprika, white pepper, half the crumbled nori, and a pinch of salt until evenly coated. Set aside to absorb the seasoning for 10 minutes.

Place the potato cubes in a saucepan of well-salted cold water, bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce to a steady simmer and cook for 12–14 minutes until just tender when pierced with a knife. Drain and keep warm.

Drop the green beans into a separate pan of boiling salted water and cook for 4 minutes until bright green and just tender. Drain, refresh briefly under cold water, and set aside.

Heat a large cast-iron or heavy-based frying pan over high heat until smoking. Spread the seasoned hearts of palm in a single layer — do not crowd the pan — and cook undisturbed for 3–4 minutes until deeply golden and caramelised on one side.

Flip the hearts of palm and cook for a further 2–3 minutes until caramelised on the second side. Transfer to a warm plate and loosely cover with foil.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil to the same pan. Add the shallots and cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until fragrant but not browned.

Pour in the Muscadet and let it bubble vigorously for 3–4 minutes, scraping up any caramelised bits from the base of the pan, until reduced by half.

Add the vegetable stock and caper brine and simmer for 3–4 minutes until the liquid is reduced by a third and slightly syrupy.

Remove the pan from the heat. Whisk in the cold cubed vegan butter one or two pieces at a time until the sauce is glossy and emulsified. Stir in the Dijon mustard, capers, remaining crumbled nori, lemon zest, and half the lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Return the hearts of palm to the pan and gently fold through the sauce over the lowest possible heat for 1 minute to warm through without breaking the emulsion.

Divide the warm potatoes and green beans between four plates. Spoon the hearts of palm and sauce generously over the top. Finish with chopped parsley, chives, remaining lemon juice to taste, and a crack of white pepper.