How to cook Opuntia pads?

Loph · Post by **Loph** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 6:43 am

FOr information: I am a man
i am lazy
i hate cooking
i am cheap
and i have a lot of Opuntia pads growing.....

is there anything one should do when cooking (aside from checking for glochiids

)

any yummy recipes?

Loph · Post by **Loph** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:29 am

bbg, will give that a go. i am wondering what kind of veg are opuntia compared to when cooking, like texture/shape etc. i was thinking like peppers (not the taste)?

or...?

man i wish i knew more mexican cooking, any mexicans here tat know how to stir up a good glochid dish?

though i have glochid/spineless variety so its pretty safe as is.

Neko Bazu · Post by **Neko Bazu** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:44 am

I'm a man, but I happen to love cooking

I've not cooked any nopales myself, but I've looked instructions up in preparation. To give you an excerpt which you may find useful:

Commercially two sizes of nopales pads are harvested which is small, (less than 10 cm long) or (medium less than 20 cm, about 100g). The Nopales leaf pads are usually harvested between spring and the end of summer. Select thin pads no longer than 20cm or 8 inches. Make sure to wear heavy gloves to harvest the pads yourself. The pad will snap off easily or you can use a large knife to sever the stem. Beware, there are large and fine thorns so be sure to keep your hands protected. To prepare the pads remove the thorns and the "eyes" with a vegetable peeler or a small paring knife or this new gadget designed just for spine removal. Wash the pads well with cool water and peel or trim off any blemished or discolored areas. Slice the pads in long slices or in pieces or leave whole depending on the dish you will prepare.

How To Eat Nopales

Nopales is a vegetable that can be eaten grilled or boiled. Over cooking may give them a slightly "slimy" texture you may want to avoid. Frequently the nopales are added to eggs, or as a vegetable in soups, chilies or a filling in a tortilla.

The best preparation we have tried is to prepare the nopal leaves (remove spines) then grill over hot coals till tender and slightly browned. Then slice into nopalitos strips and toss with a squeeze of lime and a little bit of olive oil. They are delicious. There is also a local restaurant that grills portobello mushrooms along with the nopales and slices both and serves them tossed together.

I cringed at the bad terminology in there, but at least it gives you a starting point to work from

MildBill · Post by **MildBill** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 12:07 pm

Well, Loph if you really hate cooking you probably won't want to mess with preparing opuntia. But here is what I know/do:

Most folks here in Texas know the pads as Nopales and when prepared as food as Nopalitos (Spanish). So, I usually harvest the pads in the spring when they are fully grown but not yet hardened. This is part of my spring pruning in the cactus garden. I have eaten Phaeacantha, Ficus indica, Humifosa, and others.

After you harvest the pads (wearing gloves of course) take them into the kitchen and scrape both sides with a knife to remove all glocids and spines. Then trim off the edges where it is hard to scrape. When you have them cleaned you cut them into strips about 1/4" wide and they are ready to cook. They will be very much like okra in texture and with about the same amount of slime. They have a slightly tart flavor.

For cooking, you can pickle them using dill pickle recipes, you can bread them like fish and deep fry them, you can stir fry with other vegetables, cook with scrambled eggs etc.

Give em a try, Bill

Harriet · Post by **Harriet** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 1:44 pm

I have a lot of Opuntias, but none are big enough to havest for food... Now that is an interesting thing to look forward to!

hoven5th · Post by **hoven5th** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:10 pm

If you're really hungrey, and you don't have anything to do, you could always eat some L. williamsii

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:32 pm

A coupla mexican resturants in my area season them and grill the pad whole(after prepareing them properly) then cut them into strips and put them on top of the entree as a garnish, a little slimy but not to bad.

hoven5th · Post by **hoven5th** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:41 pm

FYI:

http://www.succulent-plant.com/crecipe.html

Peterthecactusguy · Post by **Peterthecactusguy** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 10:43 pm

well we must not have gotten them cooked all the way cause ours were sorta crispy almost like a pickle. They tasted somewhat like green beans, but from what I remember it was more like dirt.

I think I am gonna try using some later on and seeing how good they are mixed in with the pork+peppers.

and yeah the hard part was preparing the pads.

Loph · Post by **Loph** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 5:13 am

If you're really hungrey, and you don't have anything to do, you could always eat some L. williamsii Razz

i can think a few [thousand] things that would taste better for dinner

such as, but not limited to my dirty laundry...

i have looked at those links, some sound really yummy. tonight i am going to try cooking 3 pads.

i was thinking recently if they were cooked to mushy status, would they go well in a salsa or chili?

if i can get something i like out of these things, our food budget is going to be super happy!!

Peterthecactusguy · Post by **Peterthecactusguy** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:21 am

Loph thats why I wanted to put it with pork/chilies. I think that it would taste pretty good with the chilies....but who knows. I gotta see if any one else is willing to try them lol

eekawill · Post by **eekawill** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 6:25 am

The comparison to okra made me think some cactus gumbo would be good or just soaked in olive oil and cracked black pepper after being on the grill mmmmmm

king_hedes · Post by **king_hedes** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:25 pm

i hear of a lot of people cooken them with eggs

Peterthecactusguy · Post by **Peterthecactusguy** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 11:37 pm

Matt,
I am pretty sure that Mexicans do that. They also eat them as a topping on meat dishes sorta like a casserole.

eekawill · Post by **eekawill** » Sun Apr 11, 2010 5:09 pm

Do you skin them like a potato or just remove the glochids?