today I found and purchased 1 (one) of pic relateds. a cactus leaf or paddle.
what do I do with it?
has /ck/ ever cooked with them before?
google turns up a lot of recipes for "cactus salad," in which the paddles are grilled, diced, and tossed with tomatoes, cheese, cilantro, peppers, avocado, lettuce, etc. apparently it's traditional mexican cuisine.
besides a cactus salad, what does /ck/ do with a cactus leaf?
leave them in the desert
>>7516284
Remove spine clusters if not already removed, with a knife layed flat againsed the pads. Dice and simmer with a little onion and salt until tender but still with some crunch like any good boiled vegetable. This parboil will remove a lot of the slime. discard cooking water and rinse.
I like it mixed with scrambled eggs, or cooked in red chile sauce, sometimes with diced beef sometimes without. I don't care for salad, its too slimy for me. I'm sure you could use it like okra, it is very similar in texture once cooked but it has a mild acidic note to it. I learned all this from my Sinaloan mother in law.
I found this video of someone's sweet abuela cooking nopales but idek about her methods
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9Ufyv7pliY
Remove all thorns.
Cut up and soak for a bit to get most of the sap out.
Fry and mix with egg for fast breakfast.
Fry an mix with a red Chile and tomato sauce.
It's usually a minor side dish. Something like mash potatoes or coleslaw, you wouldn't make a meal of them unless is a casserole.
wall builder here
that cactus aka nopales is one of my very favorite foods in the entire world, ever since I was a kid I ate it all the time, they mix really good with orange juice in the breakfast, if you cook them in slices and put it on the pan with a little bit of oil they make a really nice side dish for meat or chicken, damn, even if you chop them and put it with your morning scramble eggs they do taste damn fine.
Imma give you some good beginner recipes that include this cutie cactus.
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/nopales-con-bistek-cactus-with-beef/
http://zestysouthindiankitchen.com/2013/01/cactus-pineapple-orange-juice-agua-de.html
http://how2heroes.com/videos/international/nopales-con-huevos-cactus-w-eggs
>>7516299
>>7516304
>>7516306
thanks guys. now I regret only buying one paddle but I wasn't about to buy several and waste them.
I think I might try a bit with egg and parboil/saute the rest and eat with refried black beans.
the juice sounds really good too but I don't have access to any sort of juicer or blender atm.
>>7516304
It is always a main course if a guiso when it has been served to me, many times, unless grilled as part of a carne asada.
Nopalitos con chile is a very common main course. straight up or with bistec in the mix.
>>7516323
Alternatively if they still have their bottoms just stick then in the yard and wait a year. You will have an endless supply of tender young pads.
>>7516333
I think it is probably too cold and too wet for cactus to grow here.
nice tripleroonies though.
>>7516330
We'll I stand corrected, I've always had then as part of a meal on par with beans and staple foods. They are a humble dish. The only time I have them is quaresma. With fish and dry shrimp patties in red gravy.
>>7516284
I had one of these bitches in my backyard and I could not stop touching it so my farther dug it out and threw it away. Recently we bought my neighbors house and replanted one paddle feom a tree that was initially planted from the paddle that I used to fuck my shit up on.
Imma eat that bitch now. That fucker is running off the same genes that my great grandfather planted out over 80 years ago.
>>7516369
I'm jealous. The only plant that got passed down in my family was a Christmas cactus from my great-grandmother that my mother finally overwatered and killed a year or so ago.
That was a 50 year-old Christmas cactus, at least. Fucking ridiculous.
>>7516343
You are civil and a gentleman, props . Fish and shrimp patties in red gravy sound fantstic. Mexico is a big place and how food is served is very regional. Humble they are, anyone can have a nopal in thier yard.
>>7516369
When you have a healthy plant, slash about 1/3 of the top off some larger pads. Soon young tender pads will sprout from the cut, let them get as big as you want but the younger the better.
pad vs fruit?
>>7516495
Fruit can be eaten out of hand or cooked, is mildly sweet and messy slimy.
>>7516284
what search term are you using? if you're not already use the term nopales that should give you a wider variety of recipe ideas
Google "ensalada de nopales", "nopal asado", "nopal con queso"
t. Wallbuilder
You can grill it or par boil it. Just keep in mind that the texture is what messes with non beaners.
