Sopa de Nopales (Sopa de nopales)
Overview
Sopa de nopales is a light Mexican soup of young cactus paddles in a tomato broth. The nopales are cleaned of their spines, cut into strips or squares and boiled briefly, then rinsed to remove most of their natural slime. Tomatoes, onion, garlic and a dried chile de árbol are blended and fried in a little oil to make a red base, which is thinned with water or vegetable stock. The nopales simmer in it with a few sprigs of cilantro, and some cooks add diced potato, epazote or Mexican oregano. The soup is green and red, fresh and slightly tart, and it is served with lime, tortillas and sometimes crumbled fresh cheese.
History
The nopal cactus has been eaten in central Mexico since before the Spanish conquest, and it appears on the national coat of arms, where an eagle stands on a prickly pear. Nopales are one of the foods most eaten during Lent, when many Mexican families avoid meat on Fridays, and nopal soups, salads and patties with dried shrimp fill the Lenten menus. Larousse Cocina includes sopa de nopales among its everyday Mexican recipes.
Main ingredients
Nopales, tomatoes, onion, garlic, chile de árbol, cilantro. The soup is built on light tomato broth with cactus paddles and is usually served hot. Diet: vegan; usually gluten-free.
Explore: Tomato soups · More soups from Mexico
Recipe
Method
- 110 min
Boil the nopales in salted water for 10 minutes, then drain and rinse well.
- 2
Blend the tomatoes, onion, garlic and chile with a little water.
- 35 min
Fry the purée in a little oil for 5 minutes until it darkens.
- 410 min
Add the water and the nopales and simmer for 10 minutes with the cilantro.
- 5
Season and serve with lime and warm tortillas.
- ✓
Serve. About 50 min from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
