i admit cheating to make this delicious salad. at wal-mart(of all places!) i buy bottled cactus in the mexican food section. what an easy salad!!
Cactus Salad
To clean prickly pear cactus paddles, which bristle with thorns, grip them by their base and shave off the spines with a knife held flush against the paddles. (Protect your hands with paper towels or rubber gloves.)
5 medium cactus paddles (about 1 1⁄2 lbs.),
trimmed, cleaned, and coarsely chopped
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2–3 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 small white onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
Salt
1 medium tomato, cored, and sliced
2⁄3 cup crumbled queso
1⁄4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
trimmed, cleaned, and coarsely chopped
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2–3 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 small white onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
Salt
1 medium tomato, cored, and sliced
2⁄3 cup crumbled queso
1⁄4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add cactus paddles, reduce heat to medium, and boil until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain paddles and rinse; transfer to a bowl.
2. Add olive oil, lime juice, onions, garlic, jalapeño, and salt to taste; stir well. Transfer salad to a platter and top with tomatoes, crumbled queso, and fresh cilantro. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
SERVES 4
