Serious Eats: Recipes
Dinner Tonight: Seared Steak Tacos with Cactus Paddles
I will admit that I picked this recipe solely because it had cactus in it. Though I'd never eaten the spiny plant, I remembered seeing it at my local Mexican market, and now I actually had an excuse to buy it. It wasn't until I got home and delicately removed the cactus from the plastic bag that I wondered why I wanted to eat this thing. What, honestly, does cactus taste like? Would it sting my tongue or have an unmentionable funky aroma?
Well, not exactly. To me, it kind of tasted like eggplant, in that it has a firm, meaty texture that's also a little squishy. The aroma is slight and pleasant. I can't say it's the most delectable thing in the world, but what cactus does do is provide a contrasting texture to the crisp bits of steak in the taco. If you're bored with your steak tacos, here's one way to shake things up.
I was led to this treacherous dish by Rick Bayless. I'm not sure if most grocery stores sell cactus, but your local Mexican market should.