Nopalitos con Chile Colorado

Karla Zazueta’s nopalitos en chile colorado pairs jarred nopalitos with pork shoulder in a smooth guajillo sauce. Her selected recipe uses already cooked Nopalitos Azteca, pork supplied in large chunks, tomatoes, onion, garlic and salt. She recalls her father making this dish during family visits to Mexico.

The pork goes into the selected saucepan with tomatoes supplied cut in half, half an onion, two garlic cloves, a tablespoon of salt and a litre of water. The mixture comes to a boil; impurities are removed, and the heat lowers for slow cooking. The source directs a two-hour cook and a check after an hour and a half.

Meanwhile, the liquid from the jarred nopalitos is drained. Clean water rinses away some of their salt, then they stand in a bowl of fresh water for twenty minutes. After another draining, they are cut into small cubes.

At the later pork check, the selected five dried guajillos, supplied washed and without stems or seeds, cook for twenty minutes. They are removed with the tomatoes, onion, garlic and some of the same cooking liquid, then blended smooth. A sieve removes skins from this sauce.

The remaining liquid is removed from the pork and retained separately. The nopalitos and sauce join the meat, with some of that leftover liquid added only if needed for a thick, runny consistency. Everything cooks together for ten minutes and is served with separately prepared tomato rice and corn tortillas.