Cactus Pads, Nopales

Also cactus paddles (not leaves), nopalitos (Latin American)

Some consider cactus consumption a curiosity, a practice reserved for overenthusiastic devotees of south-of-the-border cuisine or for times of famine. But both wild and cultivated cacti, of the Opuntia species in particular, are enjoyed in parts of Europe, the Middle East, India, North Africa, Australia, South and Central America, and the United States. And if you imagine that they are a minor crop, consider that in a typical year in Mexico nearly three times more cactus pads than carrots are produced.