Nopales in the Valley – Finding the Mexican Staple

By Editor August 30, 2016 06:00

By Brian Garrido

With nearly a hundred varieties to eat, nopales – a classic Mexican ingredient – is definitely a mejor ingredientes on mesas de la familias, whether in Arizona or south of the border. Hence, consumers can find them easily in their local market’s produce section, most notably those catering to our neighborhoods such as Food City – arguably the largest Latin grocery in the state – or the smaller, but equally well-stocked Ranch Markets will have fresh harvests for cooking. The pads are cleaned of spines and ready to be rinsed, chopped and added to any stews, tacos, huevos or burritos by the home cook.

Since cacti prevalence is suggestive of Mesoamerican settlers cooking, why don’t we find them on more gringo Valley menus? Monika Woolsey, a leading Valley food authority, the creator of Nopalapalooza and founder of Hip Veggies, the Phoenix-based organization that brings food and the arts together, says: “I think one of the biggest problems is that chefs tend to stick with traditional recipes and don’t fuse nopales with gringo (food) concepts. There can be a knee jerk reaction and criticizing that it’s “not authentic. It’s almost as if there’s a fear of losing identity by doing that, yet new recipes don’t really mean you have to give up the old. Interestingly, the gringo (food) community is reaching out and trying to be inclusive.”

Eating nopales is another way to get your vegetables. Cacti are a good source of vitamin C, and exceed the recommended daily dose of magnesium which helps in reducing inflammation and high blood pressure; plus, if you’re diabetic, it’s a healthy way to balance your glycemic index.

El Nopalito – Huevos con Nopales

Arizona Republic’s restaurant critic, Howard Seftel said in his review on the opening, “El Nopalito delivers an authentic taste of Mexico, without making you go through customs.” It’s a very apt description of the food at this award-winning, family-run experience. Nopales is the star of the desayuno carta where the ingredient appears on four of the five huevos dishes. The desert vegetales is chopped up according to the eater’s preference in divorciados, rancheros, mexicanos or a hefty burrito.

2837 N. 24^th Street, Phoenix, 85008

(602) 522-2043

Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 8:00pm

Saturday – Sunday, 8:30am – 8:00pm

Comedor Guadalajara – Quesadilla de Pollo con Nopalitos

Named by Phoenix New Time readers as the best Mexican restaurant in the Valley, the pink stuccoed building is certainly bustling with people enjoying the nopales in a quesadilla. Chunks of chicken and strips of sautéed cactus are stirred up and served in a toasted flour tortilla. Absolutely delicious with a great balance of textures.

Comedor Guadalajara

1830 S. Central Avenue, Phoenix, 85004

(602) 253-8299

Closed Mondays

Wednesday – Thursday, Sunday, 8:00am – 8:00pm

Saturday – Sunday, 8:00 am – 9:00 pm

Choon El Burrito – Burrito con Nopales

Ms. Woolsey, who’s also a registered nutritionist and exercise physiologist during the baseball-training season, states: “I like to go if I have an early day at the baseball park. They told me that during spring training our players keep them busy. First time I was in Choon El Burrito, they told me their number one seller is the lengua, so I knew they knew their stuff!” Deliciously, prepared fast food burrito store with lots of tasty attention paid to the owner’s hometown of Juarez, Mexico. The burritos are made from homemade flour tortillas, made on site and are stuffed with a treasure trove of South of the border tastes including lengua, nopales and tripa.