Author Notes
A salad made with cactus paddles! It may seem exotic to some, but if the ingredients are available, it’s worth the
effort. We created this recipe for the film "Tortilla Soup" in our book "Cooking with the Movies: Meals on Reels." —Anthony Chiffolo
Ingredients
- Salad
-
7-8
fresh cactus paddles (needles removed)
-
1/2 cup
olive oil
-
4
Roma tomatoes, sliced
-
1/2
sm. red onion, diced
-
1
Serrano chili
-
2
cloves garlic, pressed
-
1/2 cup
pine nuts
-
1/2 cup
yellow squash, diced
-
3 bunches
cilantro, leaves only, finely chopped
-
1/2 cup
añejo cheese, finely grated
- Red Wine Vinaigrette
-
1/2 cup
olive oil
-
1/4 cup
red wine vinegar
-
2 tablespoons
mustard
-
1/2 teaspoon
salt
-
1/2 teaspoon
pepper
Directions
-
Preheat oven to Broil. Place the cactus paddles
in a bowl and coat them on both sides with a
bit of olive oil. Spread onto a cookie sheet and
place in the broiler to braise, about 7–10 minutes
on each side, until the tops of the paddles
begin to turn black. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
-
When sufficiently cooled, cut into small strips. Transfer
to a large bowl, and add the tomatoes and
the onion. Cut a Serrano chili into small pieces, removing the stem and seeds. Add to the salad
along with the pine nuts, squash, and cilantro.
-
Combine all ingredients for the vinaigrette and whisk well with a fork.
-
Pour the vinaigrette over the salad.
Refrigerate until serving. When serving, sprinkle
with añejo cheese, then toss.
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