In Toronto they think if you eat nopales you’ll get spines in your mouth.
ANDREW SCRIVANI/THE NEW YORK TIMES
Tacos with cactus leaves has a catch - you have to pull the spines from the cactus before digging in.
Well, anyway, in the Toronto Star is an article that apparently was written by the NYTimes who sent a reporter to the Yucatan and came back with a recipe.
Taco Filling With Cactus Leaves
Adapted from Ana Sabrina Rivera del Río; in Spanish, these are Nopales en Ensalada
Time: 30 minutes, plus 30 minutes’ resting
2 pounds cactus leaves (nopales), spines removed, coarsely diced (see note)
Salt
3 tomatoes, peeled, coarsely diced and tossed with a pinch of salt
1/4 white onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp Mexican oregano (preferably whole, not ground)
Panela or cotija cheese, for servingIn a saucepan, simmer cactus with 1/2 cup water and a large pinch of salt, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and cool.
In a bowl, combine cactus with remaining ingredients except cheese. Let sit for 30 minutes before serving on tortillas; garnish with cheese.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
Note: Wear gloves and use a paring knife to remove spines. Mexican and other Latino markets often sell prepared cactus leaves; use 1-1/2 pounds.
How do I know it’s delicious? I don’t. So there. Try it at your own risk, because I make no guarantees.
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May 23rd, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Hey…usually I would be pretty pissed that people are lifting my images to post on their blogs…but since I too am blogging and I am always looking for new readers. How about as payment for the usage on my image (which you at least gave me credit for) you turn your readers on to my food blog, sundaysauce.blogspot.com. I have an article about cactus there titled “Cactus Among Us”…isn’t that way better than me sending you a bill.