I could have sworn I saw a recipe somewhere for a cactus salad. Do people actually eat this? Where would you buy the ingredients? Is is juicy and sweet, or sharp and pointy?
I’ve seen cactus soup; it was one of those cold soups and it looked disgusting; the cactus undergoes a great deal of preparation and ends up providing nothing more than a slimy snotty texture.
There’s a vegetable called nopalitos that is made from peeled cactus paddles. (I think it’s the same kind that produces prickly pear fruits, but I’m not sure.) I’ve tasted canned ones, which aren’t supposed to be very good compared to fresh. They didn’t taste like much of anything.
You can buy the cactus in most Mexican markets in the right season. Sorry, I’m not sure when that is.
There is a chapter about it in “The New Vegetarian Epicure,” which you might be able to browse at your local book store. She seems pretty enthusiastic.