DO IT YOURSELF-NOPALES
Nopales have a lot of health benefits. They are a great source of fiber, vitamins A and vitamin C, and minerals like calcium and iron. They are also low in calories and fat.
Nopales can be eaten raw. Most of the most popular ways in Mexico is adding raw Nopales to your Green Smoothie. However, when eaten raw, many people find they have a slimy texture (baba) and are not as tasty as when cooked. If you want to try them raw, I recommend cutting them into thin slice pieces and adding them to a salad. Check our Raw Nopales Salad HERE.
The key to making cactus pads not slimy is to cook them properly. You want to ensure that you cook them long enough to be soft but not too long, or they will become mushy.
Cooking Tip: -
- If this is your first time cleaning Nopales. Use kitchen tongs to hold the nopales or, better yet, wear gloves to protect your hands from the thorns. Once you are familiar working with cactus paddles, then you can try to clean them without gloves.
Clean the Nopales
- Place the cactus paddle on your cutting board and trim off the edge using a sharp knife.
- Scrape the spines, thorns, or eyes, running your knife from back to front until completely clean.
- Turn the cactus paddles and do the same on the other side.
- Repeat the same steps with the rest of the nopales.
- Finally, rinse the cactus paddles and return them to your clean cutting board.
Ingredients needed to prepare Nopales:-
- Nopales (cactus paddles)
- Tomatillo husk
- White onion
- Garlic clove
- Salt
Cook the cactus paddles
- Place a medium size pot with 4 quarts of water to boil.
- Cut the cactus paddles into small strips.
- Once the water is boiling, add the cactus, onion, garlic, ½ teaspoon of salt, and the tomatillo husk.
- Simmer uncovered for about 6-8 minutes or until tender on medium-high heat.
Note: The cactus will exude a sticky substance and most times will foam. So, pay special attention to this step to avoid the foam to spill over.
- Once cooked, drain and rinse the cactus.
- Let them drain completely or pat them dry with paper towels.
Now, your nopales are ready to be prepared into salads, scrambled eggs, as an addition to your Mexican stews, etc.!
