When I first moved to Texas, I was struck by the large number of prickly pear cacti, a.k.a. Opuntia, that grow along the roads and in open spaces. You may be surprised to hear that some species of Opuntia can grow as far north as Ontario in any area that has sandy soil or dunes. In many states prickly pear is the only native cactus. It grows in every western state and in most of South America. They are a great addition to rock gardens and xeric plantings.

Prickly pears grow beautiful yellow or red flowers with pear-shaped fruit that ripens to bright red. This sweet fruit can be eaten raw or made into jelly. But my favorite parts of the prickly pear cactus are the green pads, which have a delicious lemony flavor. In Mexican cooking these pads are known as nopales. Eating nopales is a fairly common practice in Mexico and the American Southwest; I’ve heard that people in Mexico eat Nopales about as often as Americans eat cauliflower. They are always available in my local grocery store in Austin, TX. Oh yeah, and because they are cacti, they are covered in spiny thorns. Some of the thorns are really big, though most are microscopic and getting one stuck under your skin is like an irritating splinter. I am lucky enough to have a few spineless prickly pear plants in my yard that I can harvest directly from my garden. Though the spineless varieties do not have big thorns, they still have some tiny spines on them called glochids, so I always use safety precautions for harvesting even the spineless types.

My college roomies can attest to the fact that I like to eat a lot of weird things. Nopales probably qualify. Nopales are yummy with their tangy tartness, but they can be slimy like okra. Okra grosses me out—can you tell I’m not a native Southerner?—but for some reason I really like nopales, despite their sliminess. Because I always eat them with other things, like beans and eggs, their sliminess is less noticeable. Also, if you avoid overcooking them they will be less slimy. They require some effort to prepare from the garden and the wild, but I get mysterious, ravenous cravings for them, and I find that squelching that hunger is worth it. While I was researching for this article I read online that they are full of fiber, vitamin A, and a variety of minerals.

How do you prepare them without getting stuck? See below for a basic recipe. They should be available relatively spine free at the grocery store. You can also buy them in a jar.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. If you harvest the nopales yourself, choose bright green young pads in the spring that are less than 8 inches long. They will still have little succulent leaves on them that drop off as the pads mature. Use the tongs to hold the pad and twist the young pad away from the rest of the plant. Use a big knife to cut the stem of the pad off of the rest of the plant if needed. Sometimes they pop right off; other times you need to cut them apart.
2. Rinse the nopales under water. Hold the pad under the water using the tongs. Using the small paring knife, knock off the whitish bumps where the thorns attach to the pad. Rinse well. I find it difficult to knock off all of the thorny spots on my cactus pads. As a precaution, I hold the pads over a low flame for a few seconds to burn off any remaining thorns.
3. Some recipes recommend grilling the pads over a flame, and I think this is a great idea because you get to burn off the thorns and cook the pads at the same time, and the flavor of the grill makes the nopales even more delicious. However, as I write this, we are at the height of a severe drought, and there is an emergency burn ban for my county. So, no grilling out tonight.
4. Instead, I will boil my nopales. After the nopales are completely de-thorned, slice them into long strips. Boil 2 quarts of water with a dash of salt. Add the strips to the boiling water.
5. Boil for about 5 minutes, until the nopales are tender and just starting to turn brown. Remove from pot and rinse well with cold water.
6. Now you have a basic prepared batch of nopales. You can add them to scrambled eggs. My favorite way to eat them is in a either tacos or burritos with refried beans and a little shredded cheese. You can also find some great recipes for nopales salads online. Sustainable Food Center sells a cookbook that contains a great nopales salad recipe. If your county is lucky enough to not have a burn ban, you can grill them with a squeeze of lime, some fresh tomatoes, and a little salt.

by Garden Maven Colleen