dining

Piva nut possibilities

by Eric Jackson

Call it piva, piba, pixbae, pewa, peach palm or one of its many other names. We're talking about the orange palm nuts that were one of the major Panamanian staple foods when the first European explorers came here, and still are.

These are one of the safer street foods to eat --- you get two large nuts or three little ones for a quarter from vendors in Panama City. You can buy piva nuts by the stalk or bunch in Panamanian produce markets. They are one of the cheapest foods you can buy.

The things are boiled or steamed for a few minutes, generally in salted water, until soft enough to eat. Those who need a low-sodium diet can dispense with the salt. Peel them or eat the peels, but don't eat the seeds.

To add cholesterol and flavor, dip your piva nuts in garlic butter or hollandaise sauce. Use margarine or Miracle Whip for a little bit healthier flavoring. However, most Panamanians eat their piva nuts plain.

Piva nuts also make a good soup base. With the seeds and peelings removed, dice them up and simmer them in the stock of your choice --- or in water with a smoked ham bone or turkey drumstick, some diced onions and a little salt and pepper --- until they are dissolved into a thick orange broth. Just how thick depends on your tastes, and is regulated by how much liquid you add at the beginning and how much you allow to boil away.

One interesting way to serve piva nuts is to use them in ceviche. Once cooked, quartered and peeled, with the seeds removed, you can add them to your favorite seafood ceviche recipe. You can also boil, peel, pit and quarter the nuts, then put them in a glass or ceramic bowl and cover them in lime juice, with minced aji chombo hot peppers, diced onions, minced culantro leaves and salt to taste. Let them marinate in the fridge overnight and you will have a tasty vegetarian appetizer.