Nopales Fiesta Salad

Happy New Year! Here is my first recipe. Let me know what you think.

Nopales Fiesta Salad

15 oz. nopales/nopalitos (cactus) chopped to pieces about ½ inch long
Corn kernels from 2 ears of corn (or 1 cup corn kernels)
3 c. shredded cabbage (green, red, or combined)
1 mango chopped large
1 tomato chopped large
½ sweet red bell pepper chopped large
2 mild green chili peppers chopped large
½ c. cilantro chopped fine
¼ c. chives chopped fine (or substitute onion if desired)
1 peeled and chopped fresh mango and/or ¼ c. dried cranberries
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

The trick to nopales is to remove the slime from it and this is easy to do. Simply wash the nopales by placing it into a colander and running water over it while tossing it with your hands. You will be able to feel and see when the slime dissipates. Keep rinsing it until it looks and feels appealing, more rubbery than slimy. Then chop it into pieces about a half an inch long. I buy nopales in a jar. I have never attempted this recipe with fresh nopales.

Once the nopales is thoroughly rinsed, combine all the ingredients except the cabbage. Let it sit for about 20 minutes to marinate. Always add the cabbage right before serving to make it crunchy. If you don’t like hot spicy food, then you might want to pass on the green chili peppers and if you like really spicy food then you can use a stronger chili pepper.

Other optional ingredients that you may wish to add include black beans, crumbled feta cheese or Mexican cheese, chopped pineapple, minced garlic, or pimentos. Fancy savory red cabbage gives the salad a beautiful appearance.