TOMATO, CACTUS, MANGO, AND LIME SALSA WITH FRESH CORN TORTILLA CHIPS
This recipe is so colorful with the red of the tomato, the green of the cactus, the white of the onion, and the yellow of the mango. With the fresh lime juice making it tangy, the peppers making it spicy, the mango lending a sweet note, and with the crispy freshness of homemade chips, this salsa appetizer is hard to stop eating. If one wants it even hotter, just add another Jalapeño or Poblano pepper. In case one has never tasted a nopal paddle of cactus, it is a little chewy because it also has a lot of fiber, but the flavor is a mix of asparagus and French beans.
Ingredients:
3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 paddles Nopales cactus, chopped (or approx. 8 ounces of diced nopalitos in can or jar) 1 yellow onion, chopped
1 mango, chopped
1 red or green jalapeño or Poblano pepper, minced
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon of sunflower oil
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
24 soft corn tortillas
1 cup sunflower oil for frying
Directions:
Fresh paddles of cacti can be found in a local Mexican grocer. If harvesting wild cactus, use gloves and long tongs and a sharp knife to cut the paddles off that are bright green and firm. The smaller cacti paddles in the early spring have fewer spines, while the larger and thicker paddles are older with more spines. In the kitchen use a sharp knife to scrape off any spines and cut into strips to roast in a 425°F (220°C) oven for 10 minutes. Or skip all that and purchase them in a jar called, baby napales or napolitos.
Prepare the tomatoes, nopales, onion, mango, chile pepper, cilantro, and garlic and place in a medium bowl. Add the lime juice, olive oil, garlic, and oregano, mix and chill.
For the chips cut up the corn tortillas into six portions, and drop a handful in hot oil just until they start to curl. Remove and drain and salt or give a shake of sweet paprika.
Correspondences:
Oregano is of air, the cactus paddles are of water, as they are water laden, and the tomato is air of water. The garlic, chile peppers, and oil are of fire, the onion, lime juice, mango, and onion are water of fire, and the corn flour is air of fire.
