Nopal Recipes
2 cups nopales, scraped, washed and cut into strips
1 cup ground chorizo sausage
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups Chihuahua cheese, grated (available in Mexican food stores, or substitute
shredded Monterey Jack)
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 of an avocado, sliced
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Bring a pot of water to boil, then remove pan from
heat. Add the nopales and let them soak for about 5 minutes. Remove nopales from
pan and put them on a paper towel to drain.
Put chorizo in sauté pan with olive oil and sauté on medium heat several
minutes, until cooked through. Break into small pieces.
Place the cheese, nopales, chorizo and mushrooms in an oven-safe dish and bake
for 10 to 15 minutes.
Garnish with avocado and serve with flour or corn tortillas, if desired.
Makes 4 servings.
Approximate values per serving: 531 calories, 42 g fat, 100 mg cholesterol, 28 g
protein, 11 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 1,006 mg sodium, 71 percent calories
from fat.
From chef Jorge Gonzalez
Mar. 26, 2003 12:00 AM
Thank you
www.AZCentral.com
Fresh Recipes - Green Bean Substitute
While Nopales have a mild flavor all their own, you can normally substitute them for Green beans in any recipe. They also have the advantage of being one of the few veggies that tastes great raw.
An very easy and very tasty recipe is to just dice some fresh nopal, add some
Italian salad dressing, sprinkle some bits of Feta Cheese over it and serve.
Quick and Hot
A variation of the above, is to cut the nopales in strips, put the plate in the
microwave for a short time (depends on how large a plate you have). put a little
bit of oil and wine vinegar on and serve.
This is a nice dressing to put on Diced Fresh Nopal
1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
4 Tbsp coarse Dijon-style mustard
5 tsp vinegar
1 tsp onion powder
4 dashes hot pepper sauce
3 drops green food coloring
Combine all ingredients in a small glass container and mix well. Refrigerate
Thank you
www.OrganicNopal.com
Ingredients:
Two lbs cleaned and diced nopales
One medium onion
three medium tomatoes, or one can diced tomatoes
One can of sweet corn
One can of Red Kidney and/or Garbanzo Beans
Two Serrano Peppers
One bunch Cilantro
Lime juice to taste
Raw Nopales, cleaned and diced into 1/3 inch pieces Mix with chopped onion,
tomatoes, Serrano peppers ( or substitute jalapenos) and cilantro. Add a few
drops of lime juice. Serve as a side dish or with corn tortillas to make tacos.
Ingredients:
two pounds of cactus prepared and diced
a couple cans of diced tomatoes
three or four pickled jalapeno peppers (or to taste)
three cloves or more (to taste) of garlic
one-half medium onion
a can each of red kidney, black bean, and pinto beans
a can of sweet corn
pinch of basil
a bunch of cilantro
quarter cup of olive oil
couple dashes of salt and some ground black pepper will add flavor
a handful of shelled sunflower seeds, shelled pumpkin seeds, or pine nuts, or
any mix of them
For a real crowd pleaser at a picnic or party make this cactus salsa ahead of time and allow it to blend its flavors in the refrigerator for a few hours or more. Just mix all the ingredients above that you can obtain. Some hot peppers are always in favor here in the South West, but other folks may need it tamed down on the hot peppers some. One can use this as a dip for tortilla chips, or a relish and garnish on burritos, meat dishes or a general spicy condiment.
Victoria's Cactus Breakfast Burrito
Ingredients:
1 lb. cactus
1 lb. potatoes
one medium onion
three cloves garlic
one clump cilantro (if available)
four eggs
cheese (if desired)
seasonings to taste
This is one of my favorite recipes, the cactus mixes very well
with many ingredients and tastes very good. Take the cleaned and diced cactus
and add to some diced potatoes that are already pretty well cooked with your
favorite spices including garlic and onions. After a minute or so add a couple
of fresh eggs to the mix and scramble all together well. Heat some tortilla
shells and spoon the mixture into the shells, add salsa roll up and enjoy.
serves four.
Copyright ©Rivenrock Gardens, 1997-2004 All rights reserved
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rivenrock.com
(cactus pad salsa)
1 cup finely chopped tomato
¼ cup finely chopped onion
1 cup fresh diced nopalitos
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon cumin powder
1 chopped jalapeno pepper (or chili powder to taste)
½ teaspoon salt (optional, or more to taste)
½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
Blend all ingredients. Salsa can be used as a side dish or topping. It also can be simmered in a covered pot until cooked, about 15 to 20 minutes, and served as a warm salsa.
NOPALITOS CON HUEVOS
(tender cactus with eggs)
¼ cup Salsa de Nopalitos
1 egg
Saute ¼ cup salsa, scramble in egg and cook to desired doneness. Salsa can be added to omelets or can top fried or boiled eggs.
GUACAMOLE CON NOPALITOS
Mash 1 ripe avocado and add fresh or cooked Salsa de Nopalitos to taste. Serve with chips.
NOPALITO SMOOTHIE
1 ripe banana, cold from the refrigerator
1 cup diced nopalitos, frozen
Juice of ½ key or Mexican lime or 1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice
1 cup cold orange, pineapple or grapefruit juice
2 ounces Glorioso herbal tonic or ½ ounce Glorioso concentrate, optional (see note)
1 tablespoon honey
Put banana, nopalitos and juices in blender and liquefy until smooth.
Note: Diabetics should use unsweetened grapefruit or pineapple juice and omit the honey. Glorioso is a combination of plant extracts that can be found in some health food stores. You can add protein powder or whatever you usually add to your smoothie, or skip this ingredient.
NOPAL BREAD
(or cactus bread)
is made by adding nopales to bread recipes. A favorite is a multigrain bread mix. Using a bread maker makes it easy, but baking bread the old-fashioned way is great.
Regardless of what bread recipe is used, reduce the amount of water required by ½ cup for a 11/2-pound loaf, and add ½ pound of pureed nopal (about 2 cups).
With some bread types and loaf sizes, you may have to experiment with moisture requirements. Some recipes will let you add 1 cup pureed nopal without reducing water.
The texture of the resulting bread is not unlike an English muffin. The Ramirezes like to toast it on a "comal" or tortilla griddle, then top it with cream or Neufchatel cheese, jam or jelly.
- Recipes' source: Tony and Renee Ramirez.