|
Post by WVMTNEERS on Mar 3, 2008 11:14:46 GMT -5
My wife and I usually try to fix something "different or special" for dinner on the weekends just to experiment with different styles or ingredients. This weekend my daughter was babysitting on Saturday night so I fixed something out of the ordinary for us...
Stopped off at Kroger's and was nosing around the Mexican Foods section and found a quart jar of CACTUS. I figured... okay... I saw some folks shaving the needles off cactus and cutting it into strips and selling them in baggies when I was in Mexicali a few years ago... let's try it!
I took a some soft tortilla shells. sprinkled some cheese on them, convered them with these strips of canned cactus, and broiled them for a few minutes. Added a small dallop of Lee's Torso's Flames of Hades Flowing Lava sauce. It was a great appitizer! (Cut them with a pizza cutter.) I also fixed some portabella mushrooms. Had a nice Merlot to top things off.
The cactus came in a quart jar. Anyone know how the use them normally? Salads?
Also, I picked up some Mole as a condiment... anyone know how they use that in a meal? I appreciate any suggestions.
|
|
|
Post by Buckeye Dave on Mar 3, 2008 11:19:16 GMT -5
I can't believe that all the time I've spent out in Arizona I've never heard of eating a cactus. Rattlesnake, calf testicles, but no cactus.
|
|
|
Post by raleighrebel on Mar 3, 2008 11:26:12 GMT -5
what is the texture? taste? what would you compare it too?
|
|
|
Post by WVMTNEERS on Mar 3, 2008 11:27:57 GMT -5
It was pretty darn good, too. Sort of "pickeled" or brined and sweet. Soft meat. About 1/4 strips. Krogers had them in quart jars (mayo sized) and it was expensive at all. When I saw folks cutting them up when I was in Mexico I thought they were crazy... but I was wrong.
|
|
|
Post by WVMTNEERS on Mar 3, 2008 11:32:58 GMT -5
Taste was gentle, no heat to it at all. Almost reminded you of a green chile in looks... but no heat. I used colby and monterey jack as the cheeses and it made for a nice presentation with the color or the tortilla, orange-ish cheese, white cheese, slightly sauteed portabella mushrooms, and the dark green of the cactus. (Might try a little pepperjack next time.) It turned out that what started out as an appetizer ended up as a nice light meal in itself!
|
|
|
Post by WVMTNEERS on Mar 3, 2008 11:35:06 GMT -5
Prep time was only about 20 minutes start to finish! Hell, we were eating the darn things as fast as we could pour the wine and get the plates out!
|
|
|
Post by raleighrebel on Mar 3, 2008 11:38:34 GMT -5
i shall have to give it a try this weekend...
|
|
|
Post by WVMTNEERS on Mar 3, 2008 11:44:00 GMT -5
I used a grater to shred the cheeses on top of the tortillas... it gave it a mottled orange/white color and the cactus sort of nestled down into the cheese after a couple minutes under the broiler. I sauteed the portabellas before and added them to the whole thing before I stuffed them under the broiler. The Merlot is not as acidic as a Cab Sav, so it made for a nice dinner wine to go with it.
|
|
|
Post by raleighrebel on Mar 3, 2008 11:45:00 GMT -5
are you a vegetarian, or is that just how you made this dish?
|
|
|
Post by RHVGator on Mar 3, 2008 12:01:58 GMT -5
Has college football started yet?
|
|
|
Post by WVMTNEERS on Mar 3, 2008 12:15:00 GMT -5
Heck NO I not a vegetarian. It just that in the last couple months we decided to do a little out of the ordinary for meals on the weekend. Plus, our daughter is now kinda/sorta dating a young man/maggot (he's actually a pretty good kid) so on Saturday evenings it's just been my wife and I for dinner. New foods are not something kids are always willing to try "objectively"... so we have been doing a little "test kitchen" on the weekends. It's been fun and something we have really gotten into.
|
|
|
Post by raleighrebel on Mar 3, 2008 12:18:01 GMT -5
;D got it
|
|
|
Post by SEE SPOT RUN on Mar 3, 2008 12:36:01 GMT -5
Ive had a little cactus. Just sampled some when on a trip to Navajo Nation as a youngin. Then in the upper teen years I had part of a cactus a couple times. (the buttons if that counts)
We try that same thing wv. Always watching cooking shows getting ideas. And we try out new things all the time. Learned to make a safty dish while we do it too, cause not everything is great on your first try. Complicated dishes we always got some burger patties ready just incase. Usually try to make that kind of stuff Sundays.
|
|
|
Post by Life's too short. on Mar 3, 2008 12:36:28 GMT -5
Has college football started yet?
|
|
|
Post by Life's too short. on Mar 3, 2008 12:39:27 GMT -5
Have you tried the fruit from pear cactus? That's been something people have eaten out here for pretty much as far back as I can recall. Something new I've been seeing in the communities where the most recent hispanic immigrants are located is the flowers from the yucca plant. Not sure what they do with this. They cut the entire stalk (probably 2'-3') and hang them on the fence where they sell them on the sidewalk with other food. I don't know how they use them to eat, but I know it's not for decoration.
|
|
|
Post by dpb13 on Mar 3, 2008 12:45:18 GMT -5
I was just about to say that about the prickly pear cactus. Eaten all the time in Israel where it is known as Sabra which is also the nickname given to native born Israelis.
|
|
|
Post by WVMTNEERS on Mar 3, 2008 12:58:01 GMT -5
Anyone know how they use the Mole sauce? (I understand it is pronounced "Mo-lay".)
|
|
|
Post by WVMTNEERS on Mar 3, 2008 12:58:45 GMT -5
See Spot Run... excellent idea about having burgers in reserve!
|
|
|
Post by Elapid on Mar 3, 2008 23:58:48 GMT -5
I used to eat the Peyote buttons of a Mescal cactus when I was younger, but I don't think we are talking about the same thing here. I don't think I'm the only person here that did that either. You picked the fibers out of the button and threw them away before you feasted. Then there is Mescal, like Tequila but always had the worm. But eating the buttons had the most effect.
|
|
|
Post by NCBulldawg on Mar 4, 2008 9:11:21 GMT -5
I have eaten that worm before.... twice, that is it. As for mescaline.... missed the boat on that one....
|
|
|
Post by bilogle on Mar 4, 2008 10:40:51 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by WVMTNEERS on Mar 4, 2008 10:57:44 GMT -5
Hey, bilogle! Great ideas... I like the one for breakfast. Thanks! +1
|
|