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AI-generated photograph: A shallow pale blue glazed bowl of green cactus strips, red tomato, white onion and coriander, fanned avocado and pink radish slices, toasted pumpkin seeds on top

Home · Recipes · Ensalada de nopales, cactus salad with lime

Oaxacan · Soups and starters

Ensalada de nopales, cactus salad with lime

cactus paddles · lime and coriander · toasted pumpkin seeds

AI-generated photograph

Nopales are the flat paddles of the prickly pear cactus, cleaned of their spines and cut into strips; they taste fresh and green, a little like green beans with a squeeze of lemon. Here they are tossed with tomato, onion, chilli, coriander and lime and topped with avocado and toasted pumpkin seeds.

Contains: none of the 14 allergens, as written. None of the 14 allergens is in this recipe as written. Jarred nopales are kept in brine, sometimes with vinegar, so check the label for sulphites if you need to avoid them.

Ingredients

  • 1 jar nopales (cactus paddle strips in brine, about 400g), drained
  • 3 ripe tomatoes, diced
  • Half a white onion, finely chopped
  • 1 green chilli or jalapeño, finely chopped
  • A small bunch of fresh coriander (about 20g), chopped
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Half a teaspoon dried oregano
  • Half a teaspoon fine salt
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 2 radishes, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

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Let's cook

  1. Tip the nopales into a sieve and rinse them well under the cold tap for 1 minute, turning them with your hand, to wash off the brine and the natural slipperiness. Shake dry and pat with kitchen paper.
  2. Put the chopped onion in a small bowl of cold water for 5 minutes to soften its bite, then drain.
  3. Toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan on a medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, shaking the pan, until they puff and start to pop. Tip onto a plate to cool.
  4. In a large bowl, whisk the lime juice, olive oil, oregano and salt together.
  5. Add the nopales, tomatoes, onion, chilli and most of the coriander and toss gently. Taste and add more salt or lime if it needs it. Leave for 5 minutes so the flavours mingle.
  6. Halve, stone and peel the avocado and cut it into thin slices.
  7. Spoon the salad onto a platter or into shallow bowls, lay the avocado and radish on top and scatter with the pumpkin seeds and the rest of the coriander. Serve straight away.

Tips

  • Jars of nopales are sold by online Mexican food shops in the UK. Fresh paddles need their spines cut away and 10 minutes of boiling, so the jar is the easy way.
  • Keep any leftover salad, without the avocado, covered in the fridge and eat it the next day.

Swaps

  • No nopales: use 300g blanched green beans, cut into short lengths.
  • Not vegan: crumble 50g queso fresco (a fresh, crumbly Mexican cheese) or feta over the top.

Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.

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