Nopales in Red Chile Sauce with Shrimp Patties
New Mexico Chiles are the dried form of the Red Anaheim Pepper. This chile has a thin flesh with an earthy chile flavor and undertones of wild cherries. This chile ranges from 2 – 4 on a heat scale of 1 to 10. The New Mexico Chile may be referred to as the California Chile or Chile Colorado. New Mexico Chiles are commonly used in Red Mexican or Southwestern sauces and is grown in Mexico. This mildly hot chile. Scoville heat units 8,000 – 12,000.
Suggested Use:
New Mexico Chiles are mildly hot and very popular in Southwest cooking. Great in sauces, salsa, rice dishes, stews and soups. Add directly to the cooking liquid along with other spices. Use in stir fry, or add to chicken or fish marinades.
Ingredients:
Red Chile Sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large yellow or white onion, peeled and finely minced
5 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
1/2 cup ground dried red New Mexican chile powder
1 cup cold water
3/4 cup fresh nopalitos, cut into 1/4-inch strips and boiled for 15 minutes
Shrimp Patties:
4 large eggs
1/2 cup ground dried shrimp
vegetable oil, for frying
Instructions:
To prepare the red chile sauce:
Heat the olive oil in large skillet over medium heat, then saute the onions and garlic in the oil until golden, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the ground New Mexican chile, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute, then stir in the water to make a sauce. Reduce the heat to medium-low and fold in the nopalitos and cook the sauce, stirring once or twice, for about 5 minutes. Do not add salt to the sauce, since the shrimp patties are somewhat salty. Cover and keep the sauce warm.
To prepare the shrimp patties:
Separate the eggs by putting the yolks in a small dish and the whites in a large mixing bowl. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they are stiff, then continue to beat the stiffened egg whites as you add the ground shrimp and then the egg yolks to make a batter. Beat only until the ingredients are blended.
Heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium heat to approximately 400F and ladle about 1/4 cup of batter into the skillet. It should float and begin to sizzle immediately. Fry the shrimp patty, turning once with a spatula, until golden, about 1 minute per side. Remove the patty with a slotted spoon to a large plate lined with paper towels and drain. Repeat the procedure until all the batter is used. This makes about 9 or 10 patties.
To serve:
Pour the red chile sauce on each of the 4 plates to make a pool. Place the nopalitos and 2 shrimp patties in the center of each pool. Serve at once with rice and beans and warmed flour or corn tortillas, if desired.
Yields 4-5 servings.