Nopal is a general name for several kinds of cactus with edible paddles and fruit. Various species of the Opuntia genus grow wild in different regions, especially central Mexico. There are also cultivated nopales.
The mild-flavored cactus paddles or pencas (the youngest, tenderest, fleshy “leaves”) are commonly used as a vegetable. They are covered with thorns, sometimes hard to see, which must be cut out with a knife (wear gloves to handle).
Before cooking they are usually cut in strips and simmered briefly in water with a small amount of baking soda or tequesquite to reduce their mucilaginous — well, frankly slimy — quality. If you don’t like okra, which has a very similar effect, you may not like nopales much. Once cooked, they should be rinsed first in hot and then cold water to remove any still-oozing juice.
Cooks in Mexico strain them through a heavy straw basket to drain off the juice; here you can rinse them in a colander. They can then be used as a salad, in a stew, with scrambled eggs (Nopalitos con huevo), or with a sauce like Salsa de chile colorado. The whole pencas (unblanched) can also be grilled on a griddle, though be forewarned that they will be slimy. Sliced nopales, dethorned and cooked, are sold in cans in Latin American markets but I don’t like them much.
Braised Beef with Chipotle and Cactus Paddles (Carne de res con chipotle y nopalitos)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds stewing beef such as chuck cut into medium-large (1½-inch) cubes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 large tomatoes
- 2 canned chipotle chiles en adobo
- 1 small white onion quartered
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 sprigs (6-inch) fresh epazote or 1 tablespoon dried, crumbled
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 3 nopalitos (cactus paddles) cleaned and cut into ½-inch dice
Instructions
- Season the meat with salt and pepper to taste. In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat until not quite smoking. Add the meat and brown quickly, about 2 minutes per side. Pour off as much fat as you can and set aside the pan with the browned meat.
- Roast the tomatoes. When they are cool enough to handle, peel them, saving the juices, and process to a smooth purée in a blender (about 2 minutes on high) together with the chiles, onion, and garlic.
- Return the Dutch oven to the stove over medium-high heat. Pour the puréed chile sauce over the meat. Add the epazote and salt. Stir well, reduce the heat to low, and cook, partly covered, for about 1 hour, or until the meat is fork-tender.
- When the stew has cooked for about 40 minutes, bring a small saucepan of water to a boil and add the diced nopalitos. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 5-10 minutes. Transfer to a sieve and rinse under hot and then cold running water. (This removes some of the sticky juice.) Drain well, stir into the stew, and let the nopalitos cook with the beef, partly covered, for another 10-15 minutes.
