CACTUS PADDLES have always been considered a delicacy in Native American cuisine, particularly by the Navajo of what’s now southern Arizona. All cacti are edible, but nopales are some of the best—especially tasty served hot, directly off the grill, as a side to accompany a cold summer salad and/or grilled meats, fruits and vegetables.

You’ll have to try them to really understand their flavor, but if you can imagine a vegetable somewhere between a green bean, bell pepper and okra—with a hint of tart, slightly bitter citrus—you’ll get the idea. Most modern recipes will instruct you to salt, drain, rinse and rub the cactus paddles to remove the slime that’s part of their essence, but Native American recipes welcome and incorporate the natural liquid. If you’d prefer to avoid it, remove the nopales from the heat when they’re still a bit firm; overcooking releases more liquid.

When you’re choosing cactus paddles, feel for tenderness and a slight give—the same way you’d choose an avocado. Look for paddles a little larger than your hand. And I can’t stress this enough: Be careful when removing the spines. I speak from experience. When I was around age 13, out picking piñons with my family, my brother thought it would be funny to yell “Snake!” I turned and ran, tripped and fell right into a cactus. Despite the still-fresh memory of the sting of those spines in my hands and arms, I still love cactus. But as a food, not a houseplant: To the Navajo, cactus is sacred and should be left to flourish in the wild.

Recipes reprinted with permission from New Native Kitchen: Celebrating Modern Recipes of the American Indian by Chef Freddie Bitsoie and James O. Fraioli (Abrams, 2021)