nopales

Learn how to cook nopales with chorizo, a classic Mexican dish made vegan that you'll want to make over and over again.

How to Cook Nopales con Chorizo or Cactus with Mexican Chorizo Sausage

soyrizo

onion

garlic (roughly chopped)

vegetable oil olive oil

salt (to taste)

Prep all of your ingredients before you begin. In a large pan add a splash of oil and once hot add the onions. Saute until they begin to soften, stir often. Next, add the soyrizo and saute until it begins to crisp up a bit. Then add the nopales and saute until they turn a darker green color and have softened. They'll start realizing some of their viscous liquid but just keep cooking them to cook that off.

Next, add the garlic and the salt, give it a good stir and cook for another minute or two to soften the garlic. Make sure you stir until well combined to distribute the garlic and salt.

Continue to cook for another few minutes, taste and if needed adjust the salt or add any other additional seasonings. If you get a nice and flavorful soyrizo you really won't need to add much more seasonings.

Serve as desired, see suggestions in the article. It's great to accompany with a bowl of a medium-spicy salsa if of your choice.

Learning the art of despining and cleaning nopales, edible cactus paddles, is practically a rite of passage for many who grow up in Mexican households. If nopales grow wild somewhere in the yard, they’re gripped with tongs and sliced off the plant with a sharp knife. Once their prickly shield of armor is removed, they’re cooked until they achieve their unique soft texture. (Groceries sell nopales despined, cleaned and ready to cook.) Often, charred nopales are then drowned in a guisado — here, it’s a little spicy from chiles and saucy from tomatoes. The mild, slightly tangy nopales stained red from the chile guisado pair perfectly with fresh tortillas. This abuelita-approved dish is great with a side of pinto frijoles de la olla.

Grilled Nopales en Chile Rojo

nopales (6 to 8 large paddles)

guajillo chiles, stemmed, seeded and rinsed

beefsteak tomatoes, quartered

garlic cloves,

Salt

neutral-flavored oil, plus more if needed

cumin

pepitas, toasted

cilantro leaves

Sal de colima

corn tortillas,

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.

Ensalada de Nopales

nopales (cactus) paddles

tbsp coarse sea salt,

1lb heirloom tomatoes, chopped

white onion, finely diced

cilantro,

tbsp extra virgin olive oil

garlic powder garlic cloves, minced

Ground pepper

To serve: tostadas, sliced avocado

If your nopales paddles have the thorns already removed, proceed to the next step. If you purchased nopales with the thorns on, carefully remove them using a sharp knife.

Dice nopales and add to a large bowl. Cover with coarse sea salt and toss well by hand, for approximately 5 minutes. Allow to sit for 5 additional minutes.

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How to Cook Nopales con Chorizo or ...

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Ensalada de Nopales

Top 3 nopales recipes from across the web

The most viewed nopales recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

How to Cook Nopales con Chorizo or ...

Grilled Nopales en Chile Rojo

Ensalada de Nopales

The most viewed nopales recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine