With guajillo salsa and avocado cilantro lime crema
I’ve always wondered what Nopal was for. Seen it a few times in a Mexican grocery store in the US but haven’t had the opportunity to try it yet.
What’s it like?
it’s vegetal, slightly sour, and can have a nice texture. Flavor like green beans but fresher and better tasting. Nopales + beans + salsa make excellent vegetarian tacos. They are also great added to meat tacos and the acidity means you can skip the lime (or not)
the trick is to cook the shit out of them. When you cook them, they release a goopy mucus that burns in the pan. most restaurants (at least near me) stop when they turn translucent. this gives them a slimy texture i don’t care for.
i recommend continuing to cook the until all the mucus burns off and you have nice non-slimy bits. taste and texture are much better this way IMO. i have heard you can get the same or better results grilling on an open flame, but i haven’t tried that yet.
I’d call the flavor a cross between green bean and asparagus.
To get the slime out without mucking up your pan, boil it for 15 minutes. Add a chunk of onion, cloves is garlic, salt, pepper to the water for flavor. Then drain, rinse with water, and 90% of the slime will be gone. Then just combine with the rest of your cooked filling.
If you are going for a vegetarian taco, I recommend adding queso de frier (friable cheese) for that hit of salt, fat, and chewy texture. Dice it up into small pieces. Fry it with a touch of neutral oil until it’s brown and crispy on all sides.
i will try this next time! My method does leave the cast-iron pan pretty crusty
the cheese is also a great suggestion
Awesome, now I have to find some. Thanks for sharing.
Rick Bayless on YouTube has this method on a recent video. He adds a little salsa that can taste pretty good. Reminds me of the way we had it where I grew up.
Not sure how to describe it. It’s chewy and slimy. Idk kinda like a cucumber maybe? If you’ve seen it you can probably guess how it feels like. I forgot the flavor, guess it wasn’t too memorable.
Excelente. ¿Es algo casero o de algún restaurante?
El carnicero hizo la cecina. Compró las tortillas, pero todo lo demás es casero.
The butcher made the cecina. Bought the tortillas, but everything else is homemade.
(Traductor de Google porque mis habilidades en español son específicas de la comida y mi español conversacional es terrible.)
(Google translate because my Spanish skills are food specific, and my conversational Spanish is terrible)
We taco-heads want a recipe
Filling: Cecina (Salted Cured Dried Beef) 1lb White Onion, Large 1 per lb of Cecina Nopales, 4 pads per lb of cecina
Prepare the nopales • Scrape off thorns with back of knife • Cut off outer edge and thick base • Slice into strips then squares • Boil for 15 minutes with 1/4 white onion, 2 smashed garlic, salt pepper • Strain and rinse
Slice onion, somewhat thicc Cut Cecina into small taco slice squares
Pan fry onion until translucent Add cecina until cooked through Combine nopales to finish filling
Guajillo salsa: 6 Dried Guajillos 1-2 dried Arbol* 3 cloves of garlic 1/2 onion 3-4 Tomatoes 2tsp of Tomato/Chimken bullion
This makes about 1 pint of salsa
Bring water to a boil, add everything(except for the bullion) , Boil for about 15 minutes until chilies are soft. Blend (add bullion here) everything until smooth Add 1/2-1 Cup of boiled chili water until correct consistency Fry in hot oil to finish
*0 for Fruity Smokey only salsa, 1 for mild salsa, 2 for standard heat, 3 for bootyburn
Avocado Cilantro lime crema (threw this together to preserve ripened avocados so make it up however you like: 5 Teeny Avocados from trader joes 5 limes juiced 1 bunch of cilantro 14oz of meixcan crema Salt Cold water for consistency
This makes about a pint as well
Twist the top of the cilantro bunch off the bulk of the stems, add to a blender/food processor with the lime juice, avocados, and salt.
My food processor wasn’t big enough to add the crema too, so I just took the avocado cilantro mix and folded it into the crema until combined. Add cold water and mix until it reaches your desired consistency (not gloopy, but not liquid)
Then you slap the tacos together.
These ingredients are also great for chilaquiles, enchiladas, flautas, whatever your mexican heart desires.
Thanks! Sounds delicious and not too complicated. i’m sure the extra salsa and crema is good on other stuff too
I find that mexican food is about creating a filling, a salsa, then it’s a matter of toppings, sides, and preparation.
