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Embracing my Mexican heritage and sharing all the wonderful flavors, colors and foods I grew up with. Join me on this journey as I also learn new foods and cooking techniques. Dedicated to my parents Ramiro and Blanca.

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Home » Nopales » Nopalitos con Rajas en Salsa Verde (Cactus with Roasted Green Chiles in Tomatillo Salsa)

Nopalitos con Rajas en Salsa Verde (Cactus with Roasted Green Chiles in Tomatillo Salsa)

May 15, 201410 Comments

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Nopalitos con Rajas en Salsa Verde was a typical dish prepared during Lent at our house. Another favorite way to enjoy nopalitos is for breakfast, scrambled with eggs, chorizo, onions and chile serrano!

The video recipe may slightly vary from the written recipe below.

nopalitos tacos with pan of nopalitos in Salsa
Nopalitos tacos close up

 

Nopalitos con Rajas en Salsa Verde in The Skillet

This past year, a couple of my foodie friends were nice enought to ship me fresh cactus paddles all the way from California! I was excited beyond words. It had been so long since I had enjoyed fresh nopalitos of any kind. When I get a craving for them, thank goodness the nopalitos in a jar are available in a variety of stores where I live.

Photo for Pinterest of Nopalitos

 

One of our local markets has been adding new products to their produce department. I walk in the other day, and what do I find??? Fresh cactus! Yay! I was like a kid in a candy store and the people around me were looking at me like I was crazy, lol! This was probably just my fourth time cleaning the cactus paddles and it wasn’t so bad, ha ha….I love a good cooking challenge!

 

Nopalitos Con Rajas en Salsa Verde(Cactus In Salsa)

A simple salsa verde with plenty of roasted green chiles(rajas) is a delicious way to serve up some nopalitos for a meatless option!
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes
Servings: 4 Servings

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 4 cups cleaned nopales cactus sliced into strips
  • Salt
  • Water
  • 1 pound tomatillos
  • 1 small white onion cut in half
  • 5 serrano peppers
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 poblanos roasted, peeled and sliced into rajas(strips)
  • 2 Anaheim peppers roasted, peeled and sliced into rajas(strips)

You will also need

  • Cilantro for garnish
  • Queso panela or queso fresco sliced or crumbled
  • Tortillas Corn
  • oil if you decide to fry the tortillas

Instructions

Directions

  • Using a small sharp knife, carefully shave or remove the needles from the cactus paddles.  Slice into strips and rinse well under cold water.  Combine the nopales with 1 teaspoon of salt in a sauce pan. Cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 6 to 8 minutes. Drain and  again rinse well under cold water.
  • In another sauce pan, add the tomatillos, half of the onion and all of the serrano peppers. Cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain all the water and transfer to the blender. Add garlic and 3/4 teaspoon of salt or to taste. Blend on high until smooth, set aside.
  • Preheat a large skillet with 2 tablespoons of oil to medium heat for a few minutes. Slice the remaining onion into thin strips. Add to skillet and cook for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Mix in the rajas and nopales and cook for another few minutes. Add half of the salsa from blender to the skillet. Cook at a low simmer for 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve with extra salsa, queso panela slices, avocado and warm tortillas. .

Notes

Once you clean and cook the nopales intially, they can be frozen in freezer bags for a few months.
Tried this recipe?Mention @pinaenlacocina or tag #pinaenlacocina!

 

The cactus paddles before being cleaned
The cactus paddles before being cleaned
Use a small sharp knife to remove the needles
Use a small sharp knife to remove the needles

Tip~ When I clean the paddles, I hold the end tightly with a kitchen towel, lay the paddle on flat surface and slice or shave away from me into the sink to catch the needles.

 

Slice into strips or dice the nopales. Use right away or freeze for another time.
Slice into strips or dice the nopales. Use right away or freeze for another time.
Blanched Nopales, Roasted Poblanos, Chilacas, Onions and Garlic
Blanched Nopales, Roasted Poblanos, Chilacas, Onions and Garlic
Blanched Tomatillos, Onions and Serrano Peppers for Salsa Verde
Blanched Tomatillos, Onions and Serrano Peppers for Salsa Verde

Nopalitos con Rajas en Salsa Verde Fried Taco with Cheese

 

Tacos con Nopalitos en Salsa Verde With Cheese

 

Nopalitos con Rajas en Salsa Verde

 

Prepare some homemade corn tortillas, add sliced queso panela to make a quesadilla or taco, add noplalitos! The tacos above were fried with just the cheese inside first. The recipe for homemade tortillas is on the blog.

Nopalitos con Rajas en Salsa Verde
Nopalitos con Rajas en Salsa Verde

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Filed Under: Meatless, Nopales, Traditional Mexican Recipes Tagged With: Cactus, foods for lent, Meatless, Nopales, nopalitos en salsa, Salsa Verde

Previous Post: « Crazy About Mangos! Spicy Mango Barbeque Chicken with Fresh Mango Salsa
Next Post: Dried Chiles~ Staples of a Mexican Kitchen »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. River Hernandez

    September 18, 2014 at 9:33 pm

    Ya!

    Reply
  2. Lori

    July 21, 2016 at 7:43 pm

    Love nopales!

    Reply
    • Sonia

      July 21, 2016 at 8:20 pm

      I hear Ya Lori! I love them too!

      Reply
  3. Lori Dominguez

    September 10, 2019 at 8:58 am

    Can this be canned

    Reply
    • Sonia

      September 10, 2019 at 11:07 am

      I don’t see why it couldn’t be canned Lori.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Authentic Mexican Entrees | Mexican Please says:
    February 18, 2017 at 1:29 am

    […] Nopalitos con Rajas en Salsa Verde by La Pina en la Cocina […]

    Reply
  2. Nopalitos en Salsa de Chile Ancho(Cactus in Salsa) - La Piña en la Cocina says:
    October 1, 2018 at 9:30 pm

    […] How to clean fresh nopal (cactus) paddles. https://pinaenlacocina.com/nopalitos-con-rajas-en-salsa-verde-cactus-with-roasted-green-ch… […]

    Reply
  3. Mexican Foods For Lent - La Piña en la Cocina says:
    March 4, 2019 at 11:24 pm

    […] Nopalitos Con Rajas En Salsa Verde (Cactus in Salsa) https://pinaenlacocina.com/nopalitos-con-rajas-en-salsa-verde-cactus-with-roasted-green-ch… […]

    Reply
  4. Mexican Vegetarian Recipes | Mamá Maggie's Kitchen says:
    March 18, 2019 at 1:59 pm

    […] Nopalitos con Rajas en Salsa Verde (Cactus with Roasted Green Chiles in Tomatillo Salsa) is a yummy vegetarian Mexican recipe. […]

    Reply
  5. Nopalitos a La Mexicana - La Piña en la Cocina says:
    November 18, 2019 at 11:44 am

    […] https://pinaenlacocina.com/nopalitos-con-rajas-en-salsa-verde-cactus-with-roasted-green-ch… https://pinaenlacocina.com/nopalitos-con-chorizo-en-salsa-de-chipotle-cactus-and-mexican-chorizo/ […]

    Reply

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Welcome!

Hi, my name is Sonia Mendez Garcia. My parents Ramiro and Blanca Mendez moved to the United States from Monterrey, Mexico in 1963. I am first generation Mexican American born in Los Angeles, California. Cooking has always been one of my passions in life. This is my journey and I can't wait to see what the future holds. Read More…

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