The nine years I lived in Pueblo, CO were a culinary adventure. Our corner Mexican grocery had a produce department from foodie heaven and as a newly-vegetarian Philly girl, I began buying stuff I'd never heard of and learning to cook it for fun. One of those items was nopales, or cactus paddles. They were 49 cents a pound with the spines removed. WTF, YOLO.
I brushed them with olive oil, grilled them, and it was love. The best I can describe it is the texture of asparagus and the taste of lemony green beans. Then we moved to North Carolina and nopales fell off my food radar until SteelerDude planted a cactus cutting in the front yard. It's now pretty much growing like a weed, and I wondered if it was as delicious as its Colorado cousins.
Let’s start with the obvious: these buggers are covered with spikes. The big ones you can see look scary enough, but the hair-like glochids you can't see until they're embedded in your skin are worse. Google “cleaning nopales” and you'll find bare-handed cooks working with only a knife to remove them. I don't recommend this. Instead, I burn off the spines over a flame and scrape like this:
It's quite satisfying to watch the sharps ignite.
Charred and scraped paddles:
Cleaned and sliced:
Nopales are seriously good for you.
The wealth of health benefits that come from nopales are mainly attributable to its nutrition and vitamin content, which includes riboflavin, vitamin B6, copper, iron, fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and manganese. It is also an important source of certain organic compounds like phytochemicals and certain polysaccharides that also contribute to the health boosting power of nopales
Freshly cut nopales have a slimy interior similar to okra. This can be minimized by boiling and draining the slices, or by roasting/grilling small paddles whole. I personally don't mind it because the gel has healing properties similar to aloe vera. As a longtime GERD sufferer, I’ve cut my antacid consumption to almost nothing because I simply don't get heartburn when I eat nopales. They're also loaded with fiber. Good stuff.
Ready to cook? It's easy! To grill, brush the cleaned paddles with olive or coconut oil and a pinch of sea salt and grill 4-5 minutes on each side. Sliced nopales can be subbed for peppers in stir fries and salads, or chopped into salsa verde. Breaded and fried, they taste a lot like fried green tomatoes. Pickle the strips for a cool twist on dilly beans. Cactus can be juiced or blended into smoothies for an extra nutritional punch.
Can’t find fresh nopales? They're readily available in a jar. Try them fried up with some huevos or on a soft taco like this.
Questions about harvesting and preparing this tasty and somewhat unusual ingredient are welcome! What's for dinner at your place tonight?
Update 6/11/17 14:14 EDT: thank you for the community spotlight and so many great comments!