Cactus Salad (Ensalada de nopales)
I had never had a nopalitos salad made by this method and I liked it. This is a rare chance to post the recipes in both English and Spanish. I translated Lesterloon's original Spanish-language version.Watch as my son, Chef Aarón Sánchez, shows us how to clean nopales and remove the thorns .
Ingredients
Ingredients -- English
- 6 cleaned cactus paddles (nopales) julienned or thinly sliced
- 5 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 small red onion thinly sliced
- 3 medium ripe red tomatoes cut into ¼-inch dice
- 8 ounces queso panela or queso blanco cut into very small dice
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ bunch cilantro leaves only
Ingredients -- Spanish
- 6 nopales
- 3 jitomates en cubos
- 200 g de queso panela en cubos
- 100 g de cebolla morada
- 5 cdas. de sal de grano
- 1 cda. de aceite de oliva
Instructions
Method -- English
- Place cactus paddles in a bowl with the salt. Rub thoroughly between your hands for 10 minutes. Rinse well, dry with paper towels or a clean cloth, and set aside.
- Place red onions in a sieve and pour hot water over. Drain thoroughly, blot dry with paper towels or a clean cloth, and set aside.
- In a bowl, combine the cactus paddles and red onions with the remaining ingredients. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Method -- Spanish
- Cortar los nopales en tiras delgadas y la cebolla fileteada. Colocar en un cuenco con la sal. Con ayuda de las manos frotamos la cebolla y los nopales durante 10 minutos. Lavar con agua y escurrir. Reservar.
- Añadir el jitomate, queso y aceite de oliva. Incorporar y servir.