Nopalitos Con Chili Cactus Food

NOPALITOS CON PAPAS

Steps:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Stir in the nopalitos, onion, tomato, and jalapeno. Season to taste with salt, and continue cooking and stirring until the onion has softened and turned translucent, and the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes more.

GUACAMOLE WITH NOPALES (MEXICAN CACTUS)

Steps:

• Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add nopales and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
• Mash avocado in a bowl with lime juice, olive oil, and salt. Stir in tomato, jalapeno, cilantro, and cooked nopales.

NOPALITOS CON CHILI (CACTUS)

Steps:

• Wash nopalitos, watch for small thorns, use potato peeler to smooth over and remove sprouting thorns. Cut nopalitos into small cubes, wash again, drain. Set aside.
• Brown steak in oil after you have cut it into 1/2 inch cubes. Use large skillet. Remove cubes with slotted spoon as they brown. Add onions, green peppers and garlic; saute stirring often, until tender. Add nopalitos to mixture, cook 3 minutes. Sprinkle chili powder over mixture; cook and stir one minute.
• Return meat to skillet; add tomatoes, water, salt and oregano; bring to boiling. Lower heat; cover; simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Drain beans, reserving about half the liquid. Add beans and reserved liquid to skillet; simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes.

NOPALITOS CON CHILI (BURBANK CACTUS SHOOTS WITH CHILI SAUCE)

Steps:

• With a paring knife, scrape cactus shoots on both flat sides. Cut into small squares and wash well. In a deep pan boil cactus until cooked tender. Drain and set aside. Pour 1/2 cup of corn oil into empty rinsed pan and heat. Add chopped onions and chopped garlic. Saute for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes. Now add flour, water, and chili powder. Return to medium/low heat and stirring constantly, cook until sauce is medium thick. Add the cooked cactus and simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Delicious as a side dish for beef, poultry or fish. Enjoy...Gary File ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/mmdja006.zip

CACTUS FRIES (NOPALITOS FRITOS)

Steps:

• Remove thorns and "eyes" from cactus, and trim off the edges of pads.
• Blanch cactus for 2 minutes in a covered pan with enough boiling salted water to cover; drain.
• Cut cactus in 3- to 4-inch strips similar to French fries; set aside.
• Combine cornstarch and achiote paste in a blender or food processor, and pulse until smooth.
• In a medium-size bowl, combine flour and baking powder, add cornstarch mixture, and blend well.
• In another bowl, beat egg white to stiff meringue.
• Fold into the flour mixture, alternating with enough ice water to make batter the consistency of unbeaten egg white; chill.
• Dredge cactus strips in batter, and fry in deep hot oil (375° on the thermometer) until crisp and golden, approximately 3 minutes.
• Drain well and serve.

GRILLED NOPALES EN CHILE ROJO

Steps:

• Most markets sell nopales already despined and cleaned. If the paddles still have their spines, remove them: Hold a paddle by its stem and run a sharp knife along the skin, moving it away from you to scrape off spines. Then flip it over and repeat. Trim off the outer edges to remove any small spines, then cut off the stem. Repeat with all of the paddles. Rinse off the nopales, checking for any remaining spines and removing them. Pat dry. If cooking outdoors, prepare a charcoal grill or heat a gas grill to medium-high.
• Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the chiles, tomatoes, garlic and a pinch of salt. Cover partially, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the chiles have rehydrated and the garlic and tomatoes have softened, 15 to 20 minutes.
• While the chile mixture is simmering, grill the nopales. If cooking outdoors, place the nopales on the hot grate and grill, turning once, until pliable and slightly charred, about 10 minutes. If cooking indoors on a gas stove, turn the burners to medium-high heat and cook the nopales directly over the flame on the stove grates. Using heat-proof tongs and working in batches, place the nopales on the grates and move them around the flames until slightly charred, flipping once so they cook evenly, about 10 minutes. If using an electric stove, heat a comal or large pan over medium-high heat and lightly coat it with oil if you like. Cook, turning once, until evenly charred, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board to cool.
• While the nopales cool, use a slotted spoon to transfer the rehydrated chiles, softened garlic and tomatoes to a blender or food processor with the cumin and 1 cup of the cooking water. Blend until completely smooth.
• Slice the cooled nopales into 1/4-inch-wide strips that are 2 to 3 inches long. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil, then add the sliced nopales and a couple pinches of salt. Stir every now and then until the nopales are tender, have released their slime and that slime has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low and pour in the chile mixture. Mix well, then simmer until the sauce has slightly thickened and the flavors have married, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add more salt as needed (remembering that you're garnishing with salt before serving).
• While the nopales are simmering in the sauce, heat the tortillas on the grill or on the stove grates' open flames until softened and lightly charred, about 1 minute per side. Stack and wrap them in a dish towel to keep them warm.
• Remove the nopales from the heat and top with the toasted pepitas, cilantro leaves and flaky sal de colima. Serve with the charred tortillas.

NOPALITOS WINGS

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients (except the wings) in a blender or a food processor and puree until it has reached a sauce like consistency.
• Set some marinade aside (or make extra) to brush on while grilling.
• Place chicken wings and marinade in a large sealable bag and try to get all the air out.
• Refrigerate for 4-24 hours, depending on how strong you want the flavor to be.
• Remove the chicken wings from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 25-30 minutes while heating the grill.
• Grill over medium-high heat, flipping frequently and brushing with the marinade for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. During the last 5 minutes of grilling do not brush on any more marinade to make sure all the juices cook through.

NOPALES CACTUS TACOS

Steps:

• Special equipment: thin gloves.
• For the nopales cactus:.
• Prepare a grill for medium heat. Wearing thin gloves, use a sharp paring knife, held at a 45-degree angle to the paddles, to carefully remove the spines. Make 3 to 5 slits in the skin of the cactus and rub all over with the garlic clove, then the oil. Sprinkle with some salt.
• Lightly oil the grill grates. Grill the nopales cactus until lightly charred, and the pad becomes tender, flipping once, 10 to 15 minutes total. Set aside to cool, then cut into 1/4-inch strips.
• For the ancho chile puree:.
• Place a dry, nonstick pan over medium heat and lightly toast the chile, turning occasionally,10 minutes. Turn the heat off and step back from the pan to add 3 tablespoons of water, being careful not to let the steam burn you. Cover and let the chile soak 15 minutes.
• Transfer the chile with its water to a blender with a pinch of salt and puree until smooth, adding more water if needed. Combine 3 tablespoons of the resulting paste with the olive oil and the remaining 2 to 3 pinches of salt, or more to taste. (Save the rest of the paste for another use.).
• For the roasted tomato salsa:.
• Combine the tomatoes, quartered Serranos and onions in a large bowl. Toss with the canola oil. Spread the tomatoes, onions, quartered Serranos, 1 clove garlic and bay leaf in a baking pan. Place under the broiler and char until nicely colored, stirring occasionally, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place the dried ancho chiles in a container of water and allow to hydrate, 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle the broiled vegetables evenly with the paprika, then toss to coat and return to the broiler, about 1 minute. Watch carefully and do not allow the paprika to burn. Remove from the broiler. Stir in the chopped Serranos, ancho chiles (discard the water), chile flakes and olive oil. Allow to marinate in the pan at room temperature, tossing occasionally, 30 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
• Chop the tomatoes and stir them together with the other vegetables in a bowl, tearing off and adding small amounts of toasted bread as needed to thicken. Add the vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.
• Mince the remaining clove garlic. Stir into the salsa along with the cilantro, lime juice and Mexican oregano. Stir in additional salt to taste.
• For the avocado crema:.
• Combine the avocado flesh, lime juice, orange juice, lemon juice, cilantro and salt to taste in a food processor, and pulse until pureed. Pass through a fine-mesh strainer and adjust seasoning to taste.
• For the tacos:.
• Place the tortillas on a serving plate. Spread with the ancho chile puree using the back of a spoon. Arrange a thin layer of nopales cactus strips over the ancho chile puree. Add a layer of shredded lettuce and spoon some roasted tomato salsa over the top. Drizzle with some avocado crema, and sprinkle with the cheese. Serve immediately.

NOPALITOS CON HUEVOS - EGGS AND CACTUS

Steps:

• Fry bacon and remove to drain.
• Pour off most of the bacon drippings, leaving enough in the pan to sauté the onions and garlic.
• When onions are transparent, add chilies, nopalitos, chili powder, and tomato.
• Cook for five minutes and stir in eggs. When eggs are scrambled, top with grated cheese and bacon, and serve with tortillas, home-fried potatoes, and refried beans.