Chef Lupita
Arroz a la Oaxaqueña
Oaxaca's red rice, stained with tomato and fried in lard, steamed with carrots, ejotes, black beans, and epazote. The side that anchors a Oaxacan family meal and earns its place beside the main.
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Nopales Asados con Limón
Created by
Whole cactus paddles charred on a hot comal until tender and smoky, sliced into ribbons, dressed with lime, raw white onion, and coarse salt. The everyday side from the central plateau.
Side Dishes
Mexican
Weeknight
Quick Meal
BBQ
15 min
Active Time
15 min cook•30 min total
Yield4 to 6 servings
The nopal belongs to the central plateau. Hidalgo, Tlaxcala, the State of Mexico, the high valleys around Mexico City where the prickly pear cactus grows in every empty lot and along every roadside. This is altiplano food. The eagle on the Mexican flag is standing on a nopal for a reason.
Nopales asados is the most honest preparation of the paddle. No boiling, no chopping into salad, no disguising. You shave the thorns, score the surface, salt it, and lay it on a hot comal until the green darkens and the edges char. That is the dish. The lime, the salt, the raw onion at the end are not seasoning so much as punctuation.
The trick is the comal. It must be hot. A cool comal steams the nopal and you get the baba, that clear slime everyone outside Mexico complains about. A hot comal sears the surface, drives the moisture out, and leaves you with a paddle that tastes green and smoky and slightly mineral, like the high desert it grew in. The salt-and-rest before cooking helps. So does the scoring. The senoras who sell asados outside the metro stations in Mexico City have done this their whole lives and they have all worked it out the same way. Cada estado, su propia cocina, but on this one the central states agree.
My mother was from Jalisco and she did not grow up on nopales the way the chilangos do. She learned them after she moved to Colonia Roma, from a woman who sold them already grilled at the corner of Alvaro Obregon and Orizaba. Her note in the margin: 'salt them first, the baba comes out before the fire.' Saber cocinar es saber vivir.
The nopal (Opuntia ficus-indica) has been cultivated and eaten in central Mexico for at least 9,000 years, predating maize as a staple food in some highland archaeological sites. The Mexica founded Tenochtitlan on the spot where, according to the founding myth, an eagle perched on a nopal devouring a serpent, an image preserved on the Mexican flag and coat of arms. Mexico remains the world's largest producer of nopales, with the State of Mexico, Morelos, and Hidalgo accounting for the majority of national output, and the town of Milpa Alta on the southern edge of Mexico City holding an annual Feria del Nopal that has been celebrated since 1977.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh nopales (cactus paddles)
Quantity
6 medium (about 1 1/2 pounds)
thorns shaved off
coarse sea salt
Quantity
2 tablespoons, divided
vegetable oil or melted lard
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Mexican limes (limones criollos)
Quantity
3
halved
small white onion
Quantity
1
finely diced
fresh cilantro
Quantity
1/2 cup
chopped
fresh chile serrano (optional)
Quantity
1
finely chopped
crumbled queso fresco (optional)
Quantity
for serving
hand-pressed corn tortillas (optional)
Quantity
for serving
warmed
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh nopales (cactus paddles)thorns shaved off | 6 medium (about 1 1/2 pounds) |
| coarse sea salt | 2 tablespoons, divided |
| vegetable oil or melted lard | 1 tablespoon |
| Mexican limes (limones criollos)halved | 3 |
| small white onionfinely diced | 1 |
| fresh cilantrochopped | 1/2 cup |
| fresh chile serrano (optional)finely chopped | 1 |
| crumbled queso fresco (optional) | for serving |
| hand-pressed corn tortillas (optional)warmed | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Cast iron comal or heavy skillet, at least 12 inches
- •Sharp paring knife for shaving thorns
- •Sturdy spatula for pressing the paddles flat
- •Wooden cutting board
Instructions
- 1
Clean the nopales
Hold each paddle by its base, the woody end, and use a sharp paring knife to shave off the thorns and the small bumps where they grew. Scrape from the base toward the tip, the way the senoras at the Mercado de Jamaica do it. Trim the woody base and a thin border around the edge of each paddle. Do not peel the skin. The skin is part of the texture and most of the flavor.
If the vendor has not cleaned them already, ask. In Mexico City, every nopal vendor will shave them on the spot. It takes them thirty seconds and saves you a finger. - 2
Score and salt
Lay each paddle flat and score the surface in a shallow crosshatch with the tip of your knife, just deep enough to break the skin. The cuts let the heat into the flesh and let the slime, the baba, escape as it cooks. Sprinkle both sides with about half the salt and let them sit for ten minutes while the comal heats. The salt draws out the baba before it hits the heat. This is the step that turns a slimy nopal into a clean one. No me vengas con atajos.
- 3
Heat the comal
Set a cast iron comal or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Let it heat for at least five minutes, until a drop of water dances and disappears. The comal must be hot. A cool comal will steam the nopales and you will end up with a slimy mess instead of a charred paddle. Brush the surface lightly with the oil or lard. La manteca es el sabor, even on a vegetable.
- 4
Char the paddles
Pat the nopales dry with a clean cloth. The salt will have pulled out a clear, slightly sticky liquid. Wipe it off. Lay the paddles on the comal in a single layer, scored side down first. Press them flat with the back of a spatula. Cook for four to five minutes, until the underside has dark char marks and the green has turned a deeper olive. Flip and cook the other side for another three to four minutes. The paddle should bend but still hold its shape. Tender, not floppy.
- 5
Slice and dress
Move the charred paddles to a wooden cutting board. Slice each one crosswise into half-inch strips. Pile them on a serving plate or in a shallow clay cazuela. Squeeze the lime halves directly over the warm nopales, using all three. Sprinkle the rest of the salt, the diced raw white onion, the cilantro, and the serrano if you are using it. Toss once with your hands. Serve immediately, with warm tortillas and crumbled queso fresco on the side. Asi se hace y punto.
Chef Tips
- •Buy the paddles small to medium. The big ones look impressive but they are tougher and more fibrous. A paddle the size of your hand is the right size. The vendors at Mercado de la Merced and Jamaica will shave the thorns for you on the spot.
- •If you cannot find fresh nopales, do not buy the jarred ones in brine and call it the same dish. Jarred nopales are for emergencies and they will never char. Look for fresh paddles at any Mexican grocery in the produce section, usually next to the chayotes.
- •The salt-and-rest step before cooking is the difference between a clean nopal and a slimy one. Do not skip it. The baba is not a flaw, it is what the cactus does, but you want it out of the paddle before it hits the comal, not on the plate.
Advance Preparation
- •The paddles can be cleaned, scored, and salted up to four hours ahead. Hold them at room temperature on a wire rack so the baba can drain.
- •Nopales asados are best the moment they come off the comal. They lose their texture in the refrigerator and reheat poorly. This is a dish you cook and serve, not a dish you make ahead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 220g)
Calories
240 calories
Total Fat
10 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
6 g
Cholesterol
15 mg
Sodium
620 mg
Total Carbohydrates
30 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
10 g
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