Creamy Rice with Nopalitos

I ran across this recipe while searching for a recipe for a prickly pear candy. Roasted nopales with rice… hmmm..

I’ve made a variation of creamy rice before using poblanos, but never thought to add fresh-roasted nopales to the dish. My family was coming over to dinner that evening so why not give it a try.
Holy momma, it rocked! It was a major hit all around and my mom even requested the recipe….score!

Creamy Rice with Nopalitos

Author: Vianney Rodriguez

Ingredients

3 nopales cactus paddles, trimmed
2 poblano or Anaheim chiles
Cooking spray
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves minced
1 1/2 cups uncooked basmati or other long-grain rice
3 cups fat-free less-sodium chicken broth
1 8-ounce carton plain fat-free yogurt
1 8-ounce carton fat-free sour cream
1 4-ounce jar diced pimiento, drained
1 1/2 cups 6 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°.
Place the nopales and chiles on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until chiles are blackened and nopales are tender, turning nopales once. Place chiles in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 15 minutes. Peel chiles; cut in half lengthwise. Discard seeds and membranes; chop chiles to measure 1/2 cup. Chop nopales to measure 1 cup.
Reduce oven temperature to 350°.
While nopales and chiles cook, prepare the rice. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add rice, and sauté 2 minutes. Add broth, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Cool slightly.
Add nopalitos (chopped nopales), chiles, yogurt, sour cream, and pimiento to rice mixture; stir until well-blended. Spoon mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray, and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes. Broil 8 minutes or until lightly browned.