Zoe Sand, Planted Blissfully

Susie Qashu, Tucson CSA

Ingredients:
• 1 Cup cold fresh grapefruit juice
• 1 Nopal, cleaned of stickers and dirt
• 2 Cups chopped frozen pineapple

Instructions:
1) Add grapefruit, nopal, and frozen pineapple to a blender and blend until the smoothie is well-blended. Serve in a large glass and enjoy.

Philippe, Tucson CSA

If nopales put you off because of their slight sliminess, mixing them with cooked rice will resolve the problem.  This is a nice one-pot dish that can be eaten hot or at room temperature.  Instead of bratwurst, you can use Italian sausage, or if you prefer the dish to be vegetarian, you can use 2-3 cups cooked beans. It’s also a good way to use leftover rice – use 4 cups of cooked rice.

1 lb bratwursts (about 4 sausages), or 2-3 cups of cooked beans
2 nopales
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups stock or water
1/2 tablespoon herbs (use herb mix of your choice, e.g. herbes de Provence, oregano and thyme, Italian herbs)
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Heat some oil in large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onions until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add rice, herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Stir until rice is well coated and hot, about 3 minutes (the rice should start smelling a little nutty but should not burn). Add garlic and stir for another couple minutes. Add stock, cover, and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for another 10 minutes.

Coat both sides of the de-spined nopales with olive oil.
On a high heat grill (about 400), grill bratwurst and nopales for about 5 minutes on each side. Nopales should be slightly charred.
Slice the nopales in nail-sized cubes or diamonds.
Slice the bratwurst in thin slices.
Mix rice, nopales and bratwurst.

Dana Rosenstein, Tucson CSA

1 share CSA beans
1-2 shares CSA potatoes
1 share CSA no pales
dry CSA chili
cumin
chili powder
salt
i’toi onions
cilantro

soak CSA beans for as long as possible, best overnight, and change the rinse water at least once.

slice open a dry CSA chile a few inches along its length.  add chile with beans and water to a pot. boil, then simmer until the beans are cooked – up to 2 hours, depending on whether you are using pinto or black beans and how long they soaked.

meanwhile, preheat oven to 375. dice CSA potatoes and nopales. place in a large bowl with cumin, chili powder and salt to taste. I used ~12 red potatoes and 2 cactus pads. I added 1/2 tbsp cumin, 3/4 tbsp chili powder, 1/4 tbsp chiltipine powder, and 3/4 tbsp salt.

Stir well with some olive oil. Place on baking sheet and roast for 20-25 min or until the potatoes are cooked and the nopales are dry to your liking. Stir at ~10 min mark.

return potatoes and no pales to the bowl and set aside. when the beans are done, strain and add them to the roasted vegetables.

if you like, whip equal parts olive oil and lemon/lime juice with salt and pepper as a dressing.

garnish with (or stir in) cilantro or green i’toi onions if you like. can be served as a hot or cold salad or as a taco or burrito filling.

From Amy Valdés Schwemm

1 tablespoon oil
1/2 tin Mano Y Metate Mole Powder (Pipian Rojo or Adobo)
1/2 cup broth
2 pads nopalitos, cooked and sliced
Dash cider vinegar (optional, for Adobo)

In a saucepan, gently heat oil. Add the whole tin of mole powder, stirring to prevent scorching. When the paste is fragrant and a shade darker in color, add broth. Stir and simmer until the sauce thickens.

Add chopped nopalitos, cholla buds, and/or seasonal vegetables. Cook until tender, and thin the sauce with more broth if it becomes too thick. Salt to taste.

Serve with hot tortillas, beans and (arugula) salad.

Dhanya Sullivan, Tucson CSA

Saute a CSA onion, chopped.
Steam or boil a nopalito, and chop it into bite size pieces.
Add eggs (or 1 egg mixed with TJ’s egg whites).
Sprinkle some red chili pepper flakes and scramble. YUM!

Philippe, Tucson CSA

This is the recipe that was featured at the solar cooking demo of June 19, 2009

2-3 pounds beef pork roast
3 nopales, despined

BBQ sauce:  Mix together:
1 pint grapefruit marmalade (you can use apricot preserve instead)
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon mole pipian rojo powder
1 tablespoon olive oil

Cut pork roast in 1 inch slices.
Place meat and BBQ sauce in a slow cooker and cook overnight.  Or cook in solar oven for 4-6 hours at 250 F.
Remove the meat from the cooker and shred with two forks.  Remove fatty bits.
Steam or boil the nopales for 15 minutes.  Drain, rinse, let cool, and cut into small diamond shaped pieces.
Add cooked nopales to meat.
Serve with warm tortillas and rice.

Philippe, Tucson CSA

This is the recipe that was featured at the solar cooking demo of June 16, 2009

2-3 pounds beef round roast
3 nopales, despined

BBQ sauce:  Mix together:
1 pint prickly pear fruit sauce (you can use 1 pint of any red berries preserve instead)
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon mole adobo powder
1 tablespoon olive oil

Cut beef roast in 1 inch slices.
Place meat and BBQ sauce in a slow cooker and cook overnight.  Or cook in solar oven for 4-6 hours at 250F.
Remove the meat from the cooker and shred with two forks.  Remove fatty bits.
Steam or boil the nopales for 15 minutes.  Drain, rinse, let cool, and cut into small diamond shaped pieces.
Add cooked nopales to meat.
Serve with warm tortillas and rice.

Philippe, Tucson CSA

This is the recipe that was featured at the solar cooking demo of June 16, 2009

1 nopalito (despined)
1 grapefruit
1 tomato, diced
juice of 1 lemon
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup basil or cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste (I substituted chile flakes for the pepper)

Steam the whole nopalito for 15minutes.  Drain, rinse, let cool, then dice it into small diamond-shaped pieces.
Mix all ingredients and chill before serving.

Philippe, Tucson CSA

1 large or 2 small beets
1 nopalito pad (despined)
2 grapefruit or oranges, peeled and diced.juice of 1 grapefruit of orange
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro or parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1 dash vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Steam or boil the beets until tender (approx. 30 mins.).  Peel and dice.
Steam or boil the nopalito pad for 10-15 minutes.  Dice.
Mix with other ingredients.  Cool and serve as side dish or with tortilla chips.