Early Morning Recipe Blogging
From the New York Times.
Nopales en Ensalada
Adapted from Ana Sabrina Rivera del Río
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 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano (preferably whole, not ground)
Panela or cotija cheese, for serving.
1. In 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.
2. 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.
Usually I would excerpt an article, but you know if I left out any part of the recipe, then it wouldn’t work.
For instance, if I left out the part about the simmering the cactus, then you’d have cooked the whole thing with un-simmered cactus, and that wouldn’t be very good nor would it?
