Nopalitos and Red Chile Rice
The Guajillo (wha-hee-oh) chile is the most common dried chile in Mexico after the Ancho. The flavor of the Guajillo is distinct, slightly fruity with a strong piney, berry under taste. Guajillo flavors dished easily so a little goes a long way. This chile is between a 2-4 on the heat scale of 1-10. Guajillo, combined with the Passilla and Ancho, form the holy trinity of chiles used to prepare the traditional mole sauces.
Suggested Use:
A mildly hot chile. Use in sauces, salsa, soups and your favorite chile. A little goes a long way.
Serves 4.
Ingredients
Nopalitos
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 pound diced nopales*
3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1 large white onion, sliced 1/4-inch thick
Salt
A little sugar, if necessary
Black Beans and Rice
1 teaspoon olive or coconut oil*
1 shallot (or 1/2 small red onion), finely chopped
3/4 cup long grain rice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons red chile powder*
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock or water
1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon salt
a few grinds pepper
To Serve
4 eggs, cooked any style (we like poached and runny)
cotija, crumbled
cilantro, chopped
* See Notes
Instructions
Nopalitos
Prepare the guajillo chile 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 the undrained can of tomatoes. Blend until smooth—this will take a minute or so because of the tough chile skins.
Clean and cut the cactus. Holding a paddle with a pair of tongs, trim off the edge that outlines the paddle, including the blunt end where the paddle was severed from the plant. Slice or scrape off the spiny nodes from both sides of the paddle. When all paddles are cleaned, cut them into squares that are a little larger than ½ 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 ½ 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.
Black Beans and Rice
Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallot or red onion. Saute until translucent. Add the rice, cumin, and red chile powder, and saute a couple of minutes more.
Add stock or water, black beans, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Cover and cook 19 minutes.
Fluff with a fork just before serving.
To Serve
Cook 4 eggs any style. This is a personal preference. We like runny eggs, so I typically baste or poach them.
Divide the black beans and rice among 4 shallow bowls or plates. Top with the nopalitos and red chile. Place 1 egg on top of each serving. Garnish with crumbled cotija and chopped cilantro.