•  200 g nopalitos
• 4-5 sliced chicken breasts 
• 5 ml salt 
• 5 ml white pepper
• 30 ml olive oil 
• 50 g onion, diced
• 80 g Thai green curry paste 
• 100 g broccoli
• 150 g cauliflower 
• 70 g baby corn 
• 300 ml coconut milk
• 5 ml red jalapeño pepper, chopped finely
• Jasmine rice, cooked 

1. Clean, remove the glochids and slice the nopalitos into 2 cm x 0.5 cm strips.
2. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken strips.
3. Heat 15 ml of the oil in a frying pan and fry the chicken in the hot oil until the strips are golden brown and cooked through. Set aside.
4. Heat the remainder of the oil to the frying pan and sauté the onion until soft.
5. Add the nopalito strips to the onions and stir-fry together for a further 5 minutes.
6. Add the Thai green curry paste and stir fry for 30 seconds.
7. Add the broccoli, cauliflower and baby corn and stir-fry for a further 2 minutes.
8. Add the coconut milk and stir through.
9. Simmer for 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft and cooked through.
10. Add the cooked chicken into the curry and simmer together for 2 minutes.
11. Sprinkle with chopped red pepper to garnish.
12. Serve the curry hot with jasmine rice.

• 6 nopalitos
• 15 ml olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, sliced
• 4 chicken breasts, sliced
• 2 yellow peppers, sliced
• 2 red peppers, sliced
• 250 g mushrooms, sliced
• 3 beetroot, cooked and cut into strips
• 5 ml salt
• 5 ml white pepper  

1. Clean, remove the glochids and slice the nopalitos into thin strips.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan or an electric frying pan or wok.
3. Add the onions and stir over high heat for a minute.
4. Add the garlic to the onion and stir for another minute.
5. Season the chicken strips with salt and pepper and add it into the stir fry, allow to cook for 2 minutes.
6. Add the red and yellow pepper, mushrooms and nopalitos and stir for 3-4 minutes only until the vegetables are tender.
7. Add the beetroot and heat it through. Taste and season according to preference.
8. Remove it from the heat and serve hot.

• 1 nopalito
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 15 ml soya sauce
• 15 ml olive oil
• 1 red jalapeño chilli, seeds remove and finely chopped
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• 1 red pepper, finely sliced
• 1 yellow pepper, finely sliced
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Clean, remove the glochids and slice the nopalitos into thin strips.
2. Combine the garlic, nopalitos and soya sauce to marinade.
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan or an electric frying pan or wok.
4. Sauté the red chilli and spring onion to the hot oil in the frying pan.
5. Add the red and yellow peppers, sauté for 5 minutes and add the marinated nopalitos with the soya sauce and sauté for another 5 minutes and season to taste.
6. Serve immediately. 

• 100 g nopalitos
• 30 ml olive oil
• 50 g onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 50 g bacon (diced)
• 1 tin whole peeled tomatoes in tomato juice
• 3 ml dried basil
• 3 ml dried oregano
• 1ml dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 ml dried parsley
• 20 ml white sugar
• 5 ml salt
• 50 ml Greek yoghurt
• 4 chicken breasts
• salt and pepper to taste
• 20 ml olive oil

1. Clean, remove the glochids and slice the nopalitos into thin strips.
2. Pour 15 ml of the oil into a stockpot heated over medium heat.
3. Add the diced onion, sauté for 6-8 minutes until the onions are translucent and tender.
4. Add the minced garlic, sauté for 1 minute.
5. Add the diced bacon and fry for 3 minutes.
6. Add the tinned tomatoes, dried basil, dried oregano, dried thyme, bay leaf, dried parsley, sugar and salt into the stockpot, reduce the heat and allow the mixture to simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Add the nopalitos, and simmer together for another 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
8. For a creamier and tangier sauce, add the Greek yoghurt and stir through.
9. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat the rest of the oil in a frying pan and fry the chicken in the hot oil until golden brown and cooked through.
10. Plate chicken breast and top with the nopalito in tomato sauce (over pasta or rice, optional). 

• 2 nopalitos

White sauce

• 15 g butter
• 50 g cake flour
• 5 ml salt
• 5 ml freshly ground black pepper
• 2 ml nutmeg
• 250 ml full cream milk

Vegetable and tuna mixture

• 30 ml olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 100g mushrooms, sliced
• 1 red pepper, finely sliced
• 100 g baby marrow, sliced
• 5 ml mixed herbs
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tins of tuna, drained

Crumb topping

• 75 g butter
• 125 g cake flour
• 100 g cheddar cheese, grated

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Clean, remove the glochids and slice the nopalitos into thin strips.
3. To make a white sauce: In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
4. Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion and the garlic until soft and translucent. Add the mixed herbs, nopalitos, mushrooms, baby marrow and red pepper and sauté for a further 5 minutes. Mix the tuna through and season to taste.
5. Combine the white sauce and the tuna mixture.
6. For the crumb topping, cut the butter into small pieces and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles crumbs (a food processor may be used). Add the cheddar cheese and mix well.
7. Pour the white sauce tuna mixture into a shallow, ovenproof dish and spread evenly. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the dish.
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes until light brown.
9. Garnish with parsley and serve.

• 2 nopalitos
• 15 ml olive oil
• 5 ml butter
• ½ medium onion, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• ½ jalapeño chilli, thin slices
• 4 large eggs, whisked
• 15 ml milk
• 60 g bacon, chopped
• Salt and pepper

1. Clean, remove the glochids and cut the nopalitos into 2 cm x 0.5 cm strips.
2. Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan and sauté the onion and the garlic until soft and translucent. Add the chilli and fry for a further 2 minutes. Remove it from the frying pan and keep separate.
3. Add the bacon to the frying pan and fry until cooked and crispy.
4. Add to the onion mixture and the nopalitos. Stir-fry together for a further 2 minutes.
5. Mix the egg and milk and add it to the frying pan. Stir continuously until the egg is softly set but slightly runny.
6. Remove from the heat and leave for a moment to finish cooking.
7. Serve immediately with crusty bread.

• 500 ml nopalito strips
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 50 ml macadamia nuts
• 100 ml cup olive oil
• 5 ml salt
• 5 ml fresh ground pepper
• 100 g Pecorino Romano cheese (Parmesan or mature cheddar cheese are substitutes)
• 20 ml fresh parsley, chopped
• 20 ml coriander leaves, chopped
• 500 g cooked tagliatelle pasta

1. Clean, remove the glochids and cut the nopalitos roughly into pieces.
2. In a food processor, blitz the nopalitos, garlic, nuts, oil, seasonings and 60 g of the cheese together to make a paste.
3. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking water.
4. Return the pasta to the pan and add the pesto and reserved water. Toss gently to combine.
5. Divide the pasta amongst the serving bowls and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese, shaved into thin slivers.
6. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

• 5 nopalitos
• 20 ml olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tin tomato and onion mix
• 15 ml worcestershire sauce
• 10 ml sugar
• 20 ml mushroom soup powder
• 80 ml water

1. Clean, remove the glochids and cut the nopalitos into 2 cm x 0.5 cm strips.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion until soft and translucent. Add the tin of tomatoes and heat for a further 2 minutes. Turn the heat down and allow the sauce to simmer gently.
3. Season the sauce with a generous amount of salt and black pepper. Stir the worcestershire sauce and the sugar into the sauce.
4. Mix the mushroom soup powder with water and stir to a paste, making sure that there are no lumps. Stir the paste into the sauce. It may be necessary to add water to adjust the consistency of the sauce.
5. Add the thinly sliced nopalitos to the sauce and allow the sauce to simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
6. Season the Cowboy sauce to taste and serve warm with steak and potato fries.

  
Sesame oil salad

• 1 nopalito 
• 15 ml castor sugar
• 4 ml salt
• 80 ml white wine vinegar 
• 5 ml sesame oil
• 1 red jalapeño chilli, chopped finely
• 1 garlic clove, chopped finely
  Pickled carrots
• 3 carrots, finely grated
• 1 ml salt
• 60 ml sugar
• 100 ml white wine vinegar
  Rice bowl
• 500 ml brown rice, cooked
• 500 g white fish, cooked and sliced
• 1 cucumber, finely sliced
• ½ red onion, finely sliced
• micro herbs
  

1. Clean, remove the glochids and cut the nopalitos into 2 cm x 0.5 cm strips.
2. Mix the sugar with the nopalito strips and allow to stand for 15 minutes.
3. Mix the salt, white vinegar, sesame oil, chilli and garlic into the nopalitos sugar mixture. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to marinate. Drain well and reserve the drained liquid.
4. Combine the vinegar, sugar and salt and stir until dissolved. Add the carrots and allow to stand for 30 minutes. Drain well.
5. To assemble the bowls, place 200 ml rice in each bowl, top with sliced fish, marinated nopalito salad, pickled carrots and slices of cucumber and onion.
6. Drizzle with the reserved liquid and garnish with the micro herbs. 

• 1 red leaf lettuce, washed and outer leaves removed
• 1-2 nopalitos, smaller than 18 cm, cleaned and glochids removed and cut into 2 cm x 0.5 cm strips
• 1 english cucumber, shaved lengthwise
• ½ red onion sliced thinly
• 100 g baby tomatoes cut in half
• 1 yellow pepper sliced
• 100 g calamata olives
• 100 g croutons
• 1 disk feta cheese broken apart

1. Tear the lettuce leaves and place them in a large serving bowl.
2. Scatter the nopalitos strips, cucumber, onion, tomatoes, yellow pepper and olives and toss well.
3. Just before serving, scatter with the croutons and feta cheese to garnish the salad.

• 30 ml lemon juice
  
• 10 ml castor sugar
• 125 ml Greek yoghurt
• 5 ml Dijon mustard
• 60 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 2 ml salt
• 5 ml black pepper (freshly ground)

1. Tear the lettuce leaves and place them in a large serving bowl.
2. Scatter the nopalitos strips, cucumber, onion, tomatoes, yellow pepper and olives and toss well.
3. Just before serving, scatter with the croutons and feta cheese to garnish the salad.

• 1 kg nopalitos

• 1 litre of water
• 100 g salt

• 2 litres white wine vinegar
• 75 ml salt
• 75 ml sugar
• 15 ml mustard seeds
• 15 ml ground allspice 
• 10 whole cloves 
• 5 bay leaves

1. Clean, remove the glochids and cut the nopalitos into very thin strips.
2. Combine the water and salt in a saucepan,
   bring to the boil, add the nopalitos and boil for 2 minutes. Drain well and cool down.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the pickling liquid by heating the vinegar,
   salt, sugar and spices together in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and
   bring to boiling point while stirring to dissolve the sugar.
   Allow the pickling liquid to boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool down.
   Remove the garlic and bay leaves after two hours.
4. Prepare the sterilised glass jars and lids.
5. Tightly pack the nopalitos in the sterilised jars.
   Do not overfill the jars and ensure that at least 20 mm space is available between the lid and the nopalito contents.
6. Pour the pickling liquid over the nopalitos in the jar, filling the jar to the brim.
7. Gently tap the jars against the counter to remove all the air bubbles.
   Top off with more pickling liquid if necessary.
8. Seal the jars and allow to age in a cool, dry place.
   The pickles will improve in flavour as they age thus wait at least 48 hours to open and use them.
9. For home canning, sterilise the pickles using the water bath method. Once opened, store in the refrigerator.

• 500 ml brown vinegar
• 500 g white sugar
• 10 ml curry powder
• 15 ml red pepper
• 750 g nopalito strips
• 200 g onions, chopped
• 200 g seedless raisins
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5 ml salt

1. Clean, remove the glochids and slice the nopalitos into 2 cm x 0.5 cm strips.
   Soak the nopalitos in salted water (15ml salt and 500ml water) for 40 minutes. Drain well.
2. Combine all the ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat slowly,
   while stirring to dissolve the sugar before the mixture boils.
3. Once the sugar has dissolved, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and
   allow the mixture to simmer gently for about one hour without covering.
   Stir the mixture from time to time. As the chutney thickens, stir more frequently to prevent sugar from sticking to the pan.
   The chutney is done when you can scrape a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan to create a gap,
   and the chutney does not flow back into the gap.
   The mixture will be thick.
4. Meanwhile, prepare sterilised chutney bottles and lids.
5. Remove the cinnamon stick and carefully spoon the chutney into the sterilised bottles and
   seal while the bottles are hot.
6. Store in a cool, dry place for a month before eating to allow the flavour to develop.

• 4 nopalitos 
• 500 ml water
  Vegetables
• 1 jalapeño chilli pepper, thinly sliced 
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 100g baby tomatoes, halved 
• 6 radishes, thinly sliced
• Carrots, julienned
  Pickling liquid
• 180 ml white wine vinegar
• 10 ml salt
• 100 g castor sugar 
• 1 whole garlic clove
• 5 whole cloves 
• 5 whole peppercorns
• 10 ml coriander seeds
• 10 ml dill seeds
  

1. Clean, remove the glochids and cut the nopalitos into very thin strips.
2. Bring the water to the boil, add the nopalitos and boil for 2 minutes.
   Drain well and cool down.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the pickling liquid by heating the vinegar, salt, sugar
   and spices together in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and
   bring to boiling point while stirring to dissolve the sugar.
   Allow the pickling liquid to boil for 5 minutes Remove from the heat and
   allow to cool down.
   Remove the spices after two hours.
4. Prepare the sterilised glass jars and lids.
5. Tightly pack the nopalitos chilli, onion, baby tomatoes, radishes
   and carrots carefully in the sterilised jars.
   Do not overfill the jars and ensure that at least 20 mm space is available
   between the lid and the nopalito contents.
6. Pour the pickling liquid over the vegetables in the jar,
   filling the jars to the brim.
7. Gently tap the jars against the counter to remove all the air bubbles.
   Top off with more pickling liquid if necessary.
8. Seal the jars and allow to age in a cool, dry place.
   The pickles will improve in flavour as they age thus wait
   at least 48 hours to open and use them.
9. For home canning, sterilise the pickles using the water bath method.
   Once opened, store in the refrigerator.

•  250 ml apple juice 
• 1 nopalito
• 1 celery stalk 
• 5 mint leaves 
• 1 tin pineapple pieces, drained 
• 1 litre Sprite carbonated beverage (Lemonade)
  Garnish
• Mint leaves
• Fresh pineapple, cubed
  
  
  
  
  

1. Clean, remove the glochids and cut the nopalitos roughly into smaller pieces.
2. Pour the apple juice, nopalito pieces, celery, mint leaves and pineapple pieces into the liquidiser and blend until all pieces are liquidised.
3. Strain the juice through a sieve to remove the pulp that remained in the liquidised juice. Refrigerate the concentrated pulp until cool.
4. Just before serving, mix the Sprite into the mixture.
5. Serve with ice and garnish the drinks with mint leaves and fresh pineapple pieces.

• 2 nopalitos
• 5 rooibos teabags
• 1 litre water
• 500 ml fresh orange juice
• 100 g fresh ginger root
• 10 mint leaves
• 50-80 ml honey
• 30 ml lemon juice

1. Clean, remove the glochids and cut the nopalitos roughly into smaller pieces.
2. Place the tea bags, ginger and mint into a jug, add boiling water and allow to steep for 4 minutes.
3. Strain the tea, add the honey and lemon juice and let it tea cool down to room temperature.
4. Place the nopalito pieces in the liquidiser with some of the tea and blend until all pieces are liquidised. Mix the rest of the tea with the liquidised pulp.
5. Strain the juice through a sieve to remove the pulp that remained in the tea. Refrigerate until cool and adjust the sweetness of the tea to taste.
6. Serve ice cold.