Today I’m going to teach you how to cook and clean nopales. Learn how to choose the most tender and delicious nopalitos. A small sharp knife is going to be your nopal peeler and with these instructions say bye to Nopal slime! Nopal in English is known as Prickly Pear, they are full of fiber, are tasty and they’re only like 15 calories per cup!
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I love to eat nopalitos, nopales in a salad, on the grill with some queso on top, nopalitos asados next to your carne asada are delicious!
The younger the nopal paddle the tender it will be. Look for the small- medium-size paddles. Make sure they are flexible but firm and they need to have a bright green color. Large nopales paddles or pencas usually have a stringy texture and are not as delicious as the tender ones.
How to clean Nopales
Peeling nopales is easy and you only need a small knife and a cutting board.
- To clean the nopalitos spines place the nopal on a cutting board.
- Run a sharp small knife over the nopal on the opposite side of the thorns and dark bumps, as if you were brushing the nopal. The thorns and bumps come out very easily.
- Now run the knife to the opposite side of the spines.
- Repeat on the other side of the nopalito leave.
- Rinse in cold water and
- Now cut in slices or chop.
How to cook nopales without slime
How to cook nopalitos! it is very easy! Nopales are delicious but many people have trouble eating them because they have a mucousy liquid that not everyone likes, especially children. The trick to removing the nopal slime, or baba as we call it in Mexico is very easy, and I am about to show you how to make no slimy nopales!
- Place the clean nopales inside a pot with nothing in it! no water, no oil, just the pot with the nopales inside.
- Cover the pot with a lead and let the nopalitos cook at medium heat.
- Nopales have the slime and a lot of water and they literally cook in their own juice.
- cook the nopales at medium heat for 20 minutes or until they all have changed to an olive green color and feel soft.
- Place the nopales inside a strainer and rinse with cold water, this will stop the heat and will help you to get rid of the slime that they could still have.
Boil Nopales for 20 minutes. To cook cactus you do not need to add water, just clean the nopal paddle from the spines and chop. Place in a pot and cover. Set to cook at medium heat. The Nopal has a lot of water on its own and it will cook in its own juice. This technique also will help you too for cooking nopales without slime.
Nopales Health benefits
Nopales in English are known as Prickly Pear Cactus and can decrease blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes, according to several studies made by the UNAM and also referred by dr Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.at the Mayo Clinic website.
So what are you waiting to cook nopales for the whole week!
One of the latest studies has shown that Nopales have an important amount of calcium, vitamina A, B, B2. Thanks to its high levels of fiber Nopales can improve digestion.
I have many Nopales recipes that I am sure you and your family will love. I have nopal green smoothies very often, they help me to feel satisfied faster during the day and they allow me to start my day full of vitamin
Visit a nearby Mexican supermarket! Nopales cactus are a very popular food in Mexico, almost as common as tortillas, so you can find the Nopales paddles in the vegetable section. Many supers already sell them prep, cleaned up with no spines, and even chopped and ready to cook. 
Yes! Just make sure to clean them eliminating all bumps and picks and rinse in cold water. I eat them raw all the time in my green smoothies.
Nopalitos Recipes
Ingredients
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4 onion
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5 cups of nopales
Instructions
- Place the clean nopales inside a pot with nothing in it! no water, no oil, just the pot with the nopales inside.
- Cover the pot with a lead and let the nopalitos cook at medium heat.
- Nopales have the slime and a lot of water and they literally cook in their own juice.
- cook the nopales at medium heat for 20 minutes or until they all have changed to an olive green color and feel soft.
- Place the nopales inside a strainer and rinse with cold water, this will stop the heat and will help you to get rid of the slime that they could still have.
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