¡Nopalitos Por Favor!

Friday afternoon snack adventure: Nopalitos Salsa! After a long week of learning about kidneys and pee, I was ready to veg out on the couch and have a refreshing snack. This turned out to be the perfect fix. Another simple, fast, and inexpensive recipe. I have never cooked with nopalitos (cactus) before and so I consulted my own "Napolitos Queen" Tami and she suggested to cut them and boil with a bit of baking soda. This worked absolutely perfectly, they weren't slimy at all and perfect texture. I mixed the cooked cactus with a simple pico that I made. The bright red of the tomato, the green of the cilantro and nopalitos, and the white of the onion make a wonderfully colorful potpourri. I must admit though, I was a little heavy handed with the onions. I love onions and I probably should have halved it for this recipe based on the amount of nopalitos. Regardless, I still thought it was delicious. A few crispy tortilla chips, a cold drink, and a beautiful day outside on a lazy Friday afternoon. Just perfect.

Nopalitos Salsa

• 2 nopalitos pads, cleaned
• 1 tsp baking soda
  
• 3 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 large white onion
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• Salt

1. Cut the cleaned nopalitos into bite-size pieces. Boil a pot of water and add the baking soda and nopalitos. Boil for 10-15 minutes or until reached desired consistency.

2. When the nopalitos are done, drain and mix with the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, and lime juice. Add salt to taste. Serve with tortilla chips.