Title: Cactus salad
 Categories: New, Text, Import
      Yield: 1 Servings
 
  1 1/2 lb Fresh or prepared cactus
           -paddles or nopale; needles
           -removed
    3/4 c  Olive oil
  1 1/2 ts Salt
      4    Italian Roma tomatoes,
           -cored, seeded and cut into
           -1/4" dice
    1/2 sm Red onion, cut into; 1/4"
           -dice
      2 md Serrano chiles, stemmed,
           -seeded and; finely diced
      2 bn Cilantro, leaves only,;
           -chopped
    1/2 c  Finely grated Cotija or
           -Anejo cheese
    1/2 c  Red wine vinegar
      1 ts Freshly ground black pepper
      6    Lettuce leaves
      1    Avocado, peeled, seeded and;
           -sliced for garnish
    1/4 c  Cracked black pepper
           -garnish,; recipe follows
 
  Preheat grill or broiler. Place cactus paddles in a bowl and toss
  with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Grill or
  broil the paddles until grill marks appear on each side, or they turn
  dark green with black patches, about 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside to
  cool to room temperature. Cover and chill 2 to 4 hours or overnight.
  Cut cactus into 1/2-inch pieces. In a large bowl, combine the cactus,
  tomatoes, onions, chiles, cilantro and cheese with the remaining 1/2
  cup oil, the vinegar, the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Toss
  well. Serve on plates lined with lettuce leaves, and garnish with
  avocado slices sprinkled with cracked pepper garnish.