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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes |
Ready In: 15 Minutes Servings: 6 |
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El Cinco de Mayo always does this to me. My Samoan family is tired of Mexican food by the time it passes. In the mountains of Guanajuato rests San Miguel de Allende. This used to be a lovely small town, and is still a lovely small city. Read more . After a five hour ride in the “Deluxe Bus”, the cool, fresh mountain air and friendly, small town people were a welcome change from Mexico City. San Miguel has a good size expatriate community and some friends of my Dad’s had taken early retirement there so I was visiting. A party developed the evening of my arrival, a party developed almost every evening I think, and the old fashioned, major tequila content margaritas and good Mexican cervesa flowed freely. In Mexico they believe a big breakfast, with a few shots of tequila and lime, is the best cure for a hangover so they had the cook make up a huge batch of Cactus Scrambled Eggs (nopalitos y huevos revueltos). I even managed to get the recipe, which is written on a yellowed piece of notebook paper with a bulky ballpoint pen. Until recently, I’d never had this dish using canned or jarred nopalitos. In Mexico you buy prickly pear cactus pads in the open market and peel or skin them your own self. The jarred ones I used here were a bit soft but otherwise okay. Salud. RJ Ingredients:
• 1 (8 ounce) can or jar of nopalitos, drained and rinsed. get fresh if you can. |
• 1 tablespoon chopped onion |
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine |
• 1/2 cup cilantro, course chopped. |
• 1 small bell or anaheim pepper seeded and sliced thin. |
• 8 large eggs |
• about 1 tbs chopped ripe olives (optional) |
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional). |
• 1/3 cup milk, i use beer but whatever. |
• salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste |
Directions:
1. 1. In a 10-inch skillet, cook cactus pieces, pepper and onion in the butter until the onion is tender but not brown. See Photo
2. 2. In a bowl, beat the eggs, milk (beer), salt and pepper, jalapeno, cilantro and olives with a fork.
3. 3. Pour the egg mixture over the cactus pieces and onion in the skillet. Cook without stirring over low heat until the eggs start to set on the bottom and sides of the skillet.
4. 4. Lift and fold the eggs with a spatula so that the uncooked part runs to the bottom of the skillet. Continue lifting and folding about 5 minutes more or until the eggs are set and cooked through but still glossy and moist. Serve hot.
5. This is usually served with the ubiquitous tortillas & frijoles and a few strips of thick bacon or some carnitas and topped with some mild, chunky salsa or guacamole. See Photo
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