Prickly Pear Salsa

Here is a great website on how to prepare Prickly Pear pads for eating.  Their foreboding appearance covers up a wealth of nutrition and medicinal benefits it is worth learning how to harvest and cook with these wonderful gifts safely. This awesome website shows videos on how to do this as well as providing some yummy recipes for cooking with Prickly Pear pads, or Nopales  http://www.rivenrock.com/recipes.html

My recipe for Prickly Pear Salsa

• chop small onion fine
• chop tomato
• chop cilantro
• dice jalapeno (to taste)
• dethorn and deskin the prickly pear pad, chop into bite sized pieces

  

• boil the chopped nopales in water, may do this several times to reduce the sliminess (some people add a copper coin to the boiling pot, claiming it improves the flavor…)
• drain and pat dry
• mix together ingredients and add lime juice, salt and pepper to taste
• best to make the day before serving so as to blend the flavors together well

  

Nopales Omelet

• lightly heat in a separate pan the Nopales salsa while cooking the eggs
• prepare an omelet and fill with the Nopales salsa
• close in half covering the top of the omelet with Monterey Jack cheese
• top with avocado slices and Mustard flowers (or any other edible wild flower)