Crispy Southwestern Cactus 'fries' (vg) Recipe

Starters

1. 1

   Prep nopales

   Trim spines from nopales, rinse well, pat dry, and cut into fry-like sticks. Lightly sprinkle with 1 tsp salt and set aside.

2. 2

   Make the dry coating

   In a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, cornstarch, baking powder, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, ground cumin, chili powder, and black pepper until evenly mixed.

3. 3

   Prepare wet batter

   In a separate bowl, whisk together water (for wet batter) and olive oil until emulsified.

4. 4

   Coat the nopales

   Dip each cactus fry in the wet batter, allowing excess to drip off, then dredge in the dry coating until fully coated. Place coated fries on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pieces.

5. 5

   Oil the fries

   Lightly spray or brush the coated fries with additional olive oil to help achieve crispness.

6. 6

   Bake the fries

   Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Bake coated nopales for 15 minutes, flip, then bake another 8–12 minutes until the coating is golden and crispy.

7. 7

   Prickly pear sauce base

   While fries bake, combine prickly pear juice/purée (1 cup) with lime juice (2 tbsp) and sugar (2 tbsp) in a small saucepan. Add a pinch of salt and optional jalapeño and simmer gently to blend flavors.

8. 8

   Thicken prickly pear sauce

   In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch (1 tbsp) with water (2 tbsp) to create a slurry. Stir this slurry into the simmering sauce and cook 1–2 minutes until slightly thickened. Stir in cilantro for brightness.

9. 9

   Finish and serve

   Taste the sauce and adjust sweetness or salt as needed. Keep warm. Serve the crispy cactus fries hot with prickly pear sauce on the side for dipping and garnish with extra cilantro if desired.