Hope you are having a wonderful New Year’s Eve gathering!

Here is a beautiful and unusual entree…

We’ve enjoyed this lovely little dish in many celebrations.
The color and texture pairing is quite celebratory!

The cactus leaf paired with the smokey, softly seasoned trout is nicely juxtaposed with the crunchy pita bread.

Here’s how to make it…

Nopal con Trucha Ahumada
yields 10 servings

Ingredients:
10 cactus leaves, cooked and cut into rounds*
1 cactus leaves, cut into small squares
380 g smoked trout, flaked
125 g cream cheese
3 tblsp whipping cream
2 tblsp mayo
1-2 shallots, minced
juice of 1 lime or 1/2 a lemon
chives, minced
tomatoes, cut into small squares
olive oil
balsamic vinegar

Mix the flaked trout, cream cheese, whipping cream, and mayo thoroughly until light and fluffy.  Add shallots, lime juice and chives.

Start mounting the about 1 cm of trout on top of the nopal rounds. Place diced tomatoes and diced nopal atop. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle salt and black pepper.

Enjoy & Happy New Year!

*HOW TO COOK CACTUS LEAF (NOPAL) [and avoid slime!]
Boil the cactus leaves (thorns removed!) along with 6 scallions, and about 1/4 of a white onion for 15 min-20 min. This will cut down the sliminess normally associated with the cactus.

–> I’ve also seen cooked cactus leaves in brine, if you choose to use this format, make sure to rinse and soak them for a couple of hours before using them.