I’m always interested in trying new foods. And so I was intrigued when Richard posted a recipe for cactus on his wonderful blog REMCooks. Richard is a great connoisseur of Mexican cuisine, and his recipes are always delicious. Once you remove the spines, the cactus is fine to eat. There is only one issue. In Texas and Mexico cactus plants grow like weeds, but in the Netherlands it is too cold for them. I had seen cactus paddles at the specialty market a few times, but they never seemed fresh. Until the other day. And so I grabbed them, and prepared them using Richard’s recipe as a basis, with some modifications. When we tasted the dish, we thought the cactus and corn needed something to bring their flavors together. To stay within the Mexican theme, I tried ground coriander seed, and it worked like a charm. The result was very nice. The cactus tastes a bit like beans, but has slightly more flavor and a bit of tartness to them. They are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, and together with the coriander work very well with the sweet corn and the spiciness of the chilli. Here’s what I did…
Ingredients
For 2 servings as a side
450 grams (1 lb) cactus paddles
corn kernels of 1 cob
1 red chilli, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
1 tsp ground coriander seed
Preparation
The only drawback to this recipe is that removing the spines is a bit of a chore. The first method I tried was with pincers, but that took too long.
Then I tried scraping along the surface with a paring knife, and that was a lot faster.
The paddle cleaned with the pincers (on the left-hand side) looks better, but once cooked you won’t notice the difference anyway.
Dice the cactus paddles.
Sauté the cactus paddles with onion in the olive oil over medium high heat for a couple of minutes.
Cover the pan and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.
Stir every 5 minutes or so.
At first it will look quite slimy, but at the end of the 20 minutes it should be dry and with some browned spots.
Season with salt and add a teaspoon of ground coriander seed.
Add the corn, chilli, and garlic.
Sauté over medium high heat for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add about a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lime juices.
Sauté for another couple of minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt.
The cactus with corn is now ready to serve.
Flashback
Stefan's Gourmet Blog 
Che piatto divertente! Troppa fatica però la pulizia delle foglie di cactus!
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Non ho parole!
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Hi Stefan. Thanks for the very nice shout out. Baby Lady and I are stoked you found fresh nopales and were able to try them. They are a fun dish and very different. We’re glad you enjoyed them and I like the addition of the ground coriander seeds.
I don’t know if you knew or it was your intent but today is Mexican Independence Day. 🙂 So, you have a celebratory post. Grito de Dolores y ¡Viva México! 😀
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I can try to pretend otherwise, but that is just a lucky coincidence 🙂
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Next question: can we buy ‘cactus paddles’ in Australia? This honestly is one raw ingredient I have never tasted : frustrating when gfs living in Mexico post the wonderful meals they have had always including the cactus!! Homework! As always! I mean most of this continent is bone dry: there has to be some cactus somewhere . . .exploring . . .
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This may be a plant that has not been introduced…
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Innanzitutto dove trovi le foglie di cactus e poi che sapore hanno? Piatto molto curioso.
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Credo ci siano dappertutto in Meriodonale. O sbaglio?
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Yes removing the spikes is quite a production depending on the cactus. We have a small fruit called a prickly pear and they require quite a lot of preparation as the spikes are very fine and almost transparent. The fruit however is delicious.
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Mmm looks delicious 🙂 lucky for us Texans the nopales always come without the spines. Have you ever tried the fruit that come from the cactus? prickly pears? The make the BEST margaritas 😀!!
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Ottima Idea Stefan. Credi che le fogllie dei Fichi d’India vadano bene lo stesso?
🙂
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Credo che sia la stessa pianta.
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Excellent. Though I suspect Richard will be surprised to see you post it.
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He was forewarned, as I had sent him a photo of the paddles as soon as I had bought them 🙂
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Living in California and having many great Mexican restaurants, we can enjoy cactus dishes whenever we like. This is the first comprehensive recipe I’ve see in how this fantastic ingredient is prepared! On a different note… I was thinking of cassata cake… I knew I had seen a great recipe a while ago… and here it is. Very delicious post! 🙂
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Keep them coming Stefan! Next time try grilled nopales salad, similar to red bell pepper salad but more complex.
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The nopales at my local grocery already takes the spines out for you! But then again, maybe they aren’t as fresh that way. My parents have loads of these “weeds” growing in their yard! Some plants are just huge! But the the local deer do a lot of trimming on them, as they love to eat them. Glad you found some, Stefan!
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Next time try flaming the cactus pads. It will give them more flavor, and makes it easy to “brush off” the needles. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVbsR2seejg Cheers.
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