Nopales Ensalada

based on the recipe from epicurious
serves 6 to 8

One of the underlying principles of our dinners is to try things we've never tried, learn a new skill, buy an interesting tool, and generally work from the rawest ingredients possible. So, rather than starting with canned nopales, or cactus pads, or even the prepared variety in the produce isle, we started with the whole ones...the ones that are still prickly. Sacrifice our hands we did, but we did manage to get every last spine peeled away before continuing to toss this menagerie of fresh ingredients together.

ingredients

• 8 Nopales (cactus leaves)
• 1 Yellow Onion, quartered
• 5 cloves Garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1/4 cup Cider Vinegar
• 1 tbsp dried Oregano
• 1 tsp Chili Powder (we used New Mexico Chili Powder)
• 3/4 cup Olive Oil
• 3 Roma Tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 Red Onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped
• 1 Avocado, chopped
• 1/2 cup Queso Fresco, crumbled

instructions

1. Using a potato peeler, remove spines from nopales. Wear gloves if you have them.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add nopales, onion & garlic and reduce to medium heat. Cook until the nopales are tender, about 6 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Discard onion & garlic. Chop nopales, cover and chill for 2 hours - 2 days.
3. Whisk the vinegar, oregano, and chili powder together in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil and season with salt to taste. 
4. Combine the nopales, dressing, tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro in a large serving bowl. Top with avocado and queso fresco and serve immediately.