Nopales

Cinthia, my roomate made this dip yesterday called Nopales and its wonderfully refreshing and healthy! Nopales is a vegetable made from the young segments of prickly pear, carefully peeled to remove the spines, basically…its cactus.  Nopales is extremely popular in Mexico and produces around $150 million worth of it each year.  Its an important ingredient in New Mexican cuisine, and is gaining popularity in the United States.  She prepares it by chopping up red onion, tomatoes, cilantro, jalapenos and a lot of cactus.  The cactus she uses comes in a jar, but the tartness and the crisp flavor of the cactus is surprisingly well preserved.  I have actually had it prepared with fresh nopalitos by her mom  when I went home with her for the weekend.  Anyway, its easy to make, really refreshing for a summer bbq or just a good way to spice up your average salsa.   

Here are some pics.

This ones kinda blurry but you get the idea.

Here’s Cinthia with her Nopales! mmmm YUM!