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| Dried and (sad-looking but) fresh fruit of the prickly pear cactus. |
Only half of the package of the dried xoconostle “prize ingredient” was left by the time I decided to turn them into a side dish. As a snack, these sweet-sour pieces of candy-like dried fruit are simply addictive. I tried to limit myself to one every other day, but once I opened the package and tasted that first chewy, fructose crystal-riddled piece, the rest were doomed.
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| Xoconostle: chewy sour-sweet goodness! |
The following recipe is a dressed-up version of a quick rice side dish that I run to often. It passes for cheap, quick eats at my house. At the base is onion, garlic and leftover rice infused with cumin and paprika, plus canned beans and frozen corn. Simple and (almost) plain, but very satisfying, I use this dish as an alternative to Spanish rice. In the recipe below, I've added a mild chili, dried fruit, toasted pine nuts and a few more spices.
[This babble continues...]
