Nopales (castus) is a traditional Mexican vegetable. Best when grilled and has got to be one of my favorite vegetables ever. Its delicious meaty texture is very satisfying. Grilled nopales can be scrambles with eggs, onion and tomato or can be cooked in a diabla sauce (spicy tomato sauce) and served as delicious vegetarian breakfast or main dish. Hope you enjoy it!
Serves 6
Ingredients
4 medium sized nopales (cactus), thorns removed, grilled and diced. Can be purchased without thorns in your local Mexican market.
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 med tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
3/4 cup red onion, diced
1 cup canned whole black beans
1 jalapeno unseeded, small dice
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
cotija cheese for garnish
hot sauce such as Tapatio
You can purchase the nopales at your local Mexican
super market with the thorns already removed or you can use a veggie peeler or sharp knife to remove the thorn and the "eye" in which they grow.
Brush the nopales on both sides with the olive oil and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Grill them (on high) for about 5-6 minutes on each side. You can grill them over the stove or on an actual outdoor grill.
Once the nopales are done grilling, let them cool for about 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, dice your tomatoes, jalapenos and onions, chop your cilantro and place in a large bowl. Once nopales have cooled, dice them up ans place in bowl along with the rest of the veg. Squeeze your lemon juice, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and salt to taste.
Today I enjoyed my nopales on soft corn tortillas with cotija cheese and hot sauce.
You can enjoy this salad as a salsa with chips or it can be served on a tostada shell and sprinkled with cotija cheese, also served over lettuce and sprinkled with cotija cheese or even on its own.
Enjoy!
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