And what gives simple foods an extraordinary flavor? Julia Child (my new heroine) said:
You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients.
Yes, the key to great foods is fresh and flavorful ingredients. And when they are natural and nutritious ingredients the results are much better. There is a very humble, yet delicious and nutritious, vegetable that I’ve forgotten for a while. Maybe you’ve seen it or heard of it. It is a vegetable that has been cultivated for thousands of years in what is now known as the Mexico basin and that was very important in the diets of the indigenous peoples of that area. It is even part of the modern Mexican flag. I am talking about nopal.
What is nopal? Nopales are edible young cactus pads from the Opuntia species. They are mainly cultivated in the mountainous states that surround Mexico City, though the Spanish took them with them in the XV century and they’re now also cultivated in parts of the Mediterranean and North Africa. Nopal is also known as prickly pear and it can be bought fresh or canned. Many health benefits have been associated to this vegetable and some products in the form of pills, powder, drinks and even cosmetics made from nopal can be purchased.
I was surprised to find them at Whole Foods last time I was there. Many food memories came rushing down and I decided to make a salad that I hadn’t eaten in years. There are many other ways to eat them and I will post more recipes in the future. This salad is only my way of introducing this amazing vegetable to my readers, in case you didn’t know it existed or if, like me, you forgot about it.
For this recipe you will need:
- 2 large nopal pads
- ½ large onion, sliced
- 2 fresh Roma tomatoes, cubed
- 1 TBSP fresh chopped cilantro
- 1 jalapeno pepper, deveind and chopped (optional for hotness)
- 1 avocado, cubed
- juice of one lime
- salt
Preparation:
Print this recipe
- Clean nopales with a peeler or a small paring knife. Make sure to remove all the thorns and nods paying special attention to the edges of the pads.
- Cut in bite size pieces and boil with onion for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Add salt to taste. Drain.
- Mix with the rest of the ingredients in a salad bowl and refrigerate until cool.
- Serve with your favorite dinner and enjoy.
This salad is easy to make, delicious and very healthy. Who said salads had to be boring?
Buen provecho!
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14 Replies
Ben, this salad sounds wonderful and I have found prickly pear plants in Greece in the summer. The pears are not ripe yet but when can the Nopal pads be harvested?
Posted on March 19th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Another fascinating ingredient! (that’s two I’ve learnt of today). Nice one Ben!
Posted on March 19th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
It’s available even at Safeway, which shouldn’t be a surprise since we’re surrounded by cacti. Hehe. I’ve always wondered how they taste and how to cook them. Maybe I’ll try this sometime when I’m feeling adventurous. Is it sweet? Sour?
Posted on March 19th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Ben, this looks SO good! I’ll have to hunt them down this weekend – I think I’ve seen them in our Whole Foods.
Posted on March 19th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
That looks great. I’d never heard of nopal before. I’ll check for it in my grocery store, but unfortunately I don’t think they will have fresh, maybe canned (I’m in Cincinnati, OH).
Posted on March 19th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
I never cared for the fruit of prickly pears, though, they are very popular in Gozo, Malta. I’ve yet to try the pads and never knew they were even edible. You’ve peaked my curiousity. Salad looks good and I do appreciate the easy simple dishes, even though, I tend to make a lot of complicated ones!
Posted on March 20th, 2008 at 5:26 am
I love nopales. Haven’t had them in a long time. I’ll have to check out our Whole Foods, since we’re not too far apart, geographically. I love them in enchiladas, too.
Posted on March 20th, 2008 at 9:17 am
I have seen prickly cactus at the grocers sometimes..interesting salad for sure:D
Posted on March 20th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
I have heard Nopal is great in aiding diabetes too.Have to try some one day.
Posted on March 20th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Thanks, Ben! Just what I was looking for. How did I miss this on your site before?
Posted on March 23rd, 2008 at 8:00 pm
This sounds fantastic, Ben, and since we have a couple of nopal cactus plants growing here in our yard (we live in the Mayan jungles of northern Guatemala) I think I will try this salad today. I have eaten the baby nopal pads right from the plant, but have never tried cooking with them. Thanks for the great recipe. I will be watching for more.
Posted on July 18th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Mmm…I just visited my sister-in-law who is Mexican, and she make some salsa with nopales. It was so delicious I grilled her on it, how she cooks it, where (outside of the grocer) she gets her nopales, and what kind to pick. I can’t wait to try it myself.
And this salad? Jeez. You know I love avocados. Absolutely delicious.
Posted on September 16th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Iam enjoying your blog . In regards to nopales…I bought a jar of them thinking I would recreate a dish I had with them in a cream sauce. Any ideas for a recipe?
Posted on November 12th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
I have never had nopales. I will have to keep an eye out for them to try. The salad looks good!
Posted on June 2nd, 2009 at 6:12 pm
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