Nopal Cactus Recipe

Farmers Market – Pedregal

Saturday and Wednesday Mornings, 7:00 to 11:00 am

Camino del Colegio 225, Just off Miguel Angel Herrera, Cabo San Lucas, Phone: (624) 172-0129 | Inquiries call Monica cell 624-122-5560

I stopped by the Farmers Market in the Pedregal on Saturday morning to see what was going on.  Unlike most Farmers Markets, our markets pretty much close for the hot summer months, but the Pedregal Market stays open all year.  It is located in the courtyard of the Mar Adentro Spa and Wellness Clinic.  Mar Adentro means “Inner Sea” – Whole Body Wellness.  Monica Diez Rivera is the owner and she “walks the walk” when it comes to holistic well being.

There were only two vendors selling produce along with organic eggs and chickens.  But that said, I still found beautiful arugula micro-greens, tomatoes, grapefruit, summer squash, mangos, fresh herbs, cabbage, sweet potatoes that had a cream colored skin and purple on the inside and nopal cactus paddles.   I was given a yellow fruit that I have not seen before called Sapote.  It is a soft edible yellow fruit that dates back to the Aztecs.  It is not quite ripe yet so I am unable to give you a report on how it tastes. There were loaves of beautiful fresh bread and muffins.  The Taco Bar was open and busy as was Penny Lane Cafe.  I would call before you make a trip there as their hours seem to change and I was told that they may be closed the first two weeks of September.

I met a lovely young woman named Melissa Castaneda who works with Atelier Naica  Jewelry Studio where they offer custom tailored jewelry courses and workshops.  This is a hands on course and your creation is yours to take home at the end of the day.  Melissa was selling some of her creations of lovely silver pieces with precious stones.

If you are interested in taking a class or doing a workshop, her contact details:

Melissa @ateliernaica.com, www.ateliernaica.com, 624 128 1921

Even though the market is quite small, I still felt it was worth making the trip.  All the produce that I brought home was very fresh, organic and of high quality.

I have a fantastic recipe for Nopal Cactus with Carmelized Onion, Guajillo Chile and Cheese   

Ingredients

• 3 dried guajillo chiles, seeded and torn into flat pieces
• 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 1/2 14.5 ounce can diced tomato (preferably fire roasted)
• 1 lb nopales cactus paddles (I prefer the smaller size)
• 3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
• 1 large white onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• Salt
• A little sugar if necessary
• 1 cup (4 oz) crumbled Mexican queso fresco or other fresh cheese such as feta or goat cheese
• cilantro leaves
• tortillas

Instructions

• Prepare the guajillo base.  Heat a medium 10 inch skillet over medium.  Toast the chiles by using a metal spatula to press them against the hot surface for a few seconds, until very aromatic, then flipping and pressing the other side.  Roast the unpeeled garlic, turning from time to time, until soft and blotchy-black in spots, about 15 minutes.  Cool and peel off the papery skin, break the chiles into smaller pieces and combine in a blender jar with the garlic and undrained tomatoes.  Blend until smooth – this will take a minute or so because of the tough chile skins.
• Cut the cactus into squares that are a little larger than 1/2 inch.
• Prepare the dish.  In a large 4 quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium.  Add the onion and cook, stirring regularly, until richly browned, about 10 minutes.  Add the cactus, cover the pan and cook 5 minutes.  Uncover, raise the heat to medium-high and cook stirring frequently until all of the cactus’s sticky stuff has evaporated and you hear the cactus sizzling in the oil.  Immediately set a medium-mesh strainer over the pan, pour in the chile mixture and press it through.  Stir everything together and let it cook until the chile mixture has thickened to the consistency of tomato paste.  Stir in 1/2 cup water, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer 20 minutes.  Taste and season with salt (usually about 1 teaspoon) and a little sugar if necessary to balance the chile’s natural astringency.
• Serving.  Serve the warm mixture with the fresh cheese, cilantro and warm tortillas.

This recipe is from Rick Bayless.