Nopales (Prickly Pear Cacti) Recipe Two Ways
We are truly blessed with an incredible team of talent that builds your Bowlus. After seeing the nopales featured in the photoshoot, our lead of installation, Erick, shared his family recipes for the little cacti. In his six years at Bowlus, Erick has advanced to lead an amazing team that is dedicated to giving you their very best. “Everyone gets along and has a good attitude. I love the team we have here and that we’re building the best travel trailer in the world,” says Erick.
Erick, you are so appreciated—thank you for sharing your recipes!
Prepare the Nopales
Tools
6 QT pot
Large bowl
Sharp knife
Cutting board
Medium bowl
Place the nopales on the cutting board and using a sharp knife, scrape the thorns/spines off of the nopales by running your knife along the skin until the skin is completely smooth. Do this to both sides. Rinse the nopales under water.
Cut the Nopales
First, cut the nopales in half long-way, then cut it in slices until you have sections no longer than 3” in length and 1” in width.
Cook the Nopales
Prepare a pot of boiling water (8 cups) with a tablespoon of salt over the stove in your Bowlus. Once the water is at a boil, add the nopales and cook for about 20 minutes or until tender. Keep a close eye on the nopales, they will let off a lot of water while cooking and the pot can overflow. Drain the nopales and rinse in cold water to take off any cactus slime.
Recipe 1: Pico De Gallo with Nopales
Ingredients
6 nopales
2 tomatoes
¼ onion
½ lime
½ bundle of cilantro
Salt to taste
Directions
After cooking the nopales, chop the tomatoes, onions, cilantro and mix all of your ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the lime and more salt if necessary. Serve on tacos or tamales, or use as dip for your favorite tortilla chips
Recipe 2: Skirt Steak and Salsa
Ingredients
2 lbs. skirt steak
15 Guajillo chilis
8 tomatillos
1 garlic clove
½ tablespoon of salt
Tools
Large pan (cast iron)
Spatula
Medium bowl
Directions
Toast the Guajillo chilis in a pan for about 10-15 minutes over medium heat. After the Guajillo chilis are toasted, remove them from the pan and remove all seeds inside. Soak the Guajillo chilis in room temperature water for three minutes. Toast the tomatillos over medium heat until they are soft. Place the Guajillo chilis in a blender with the garlic, salt and three cups of water. If the salsa is too thick, add more water and keep blending.
Remove the salsa from the blender and place in a medium bowl. Rinse the blender. Then place the tomatillos in the blender with ¾ cup of water and blend. Mix the tomatillo with the Guajillo chili mix that is already in the medium bowl. Your salsa is now complete.
Cook the skirt steak to your preference and after the meat is cooked, add the salsa and nopales to the pan and let it simmer together for 5-10 minutes.
Salud!