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
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
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Preheat oven to 375°.
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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.
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Reduce oven temperature to 350°.
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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.
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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.
Recipe Notes
recipe from Cooking Light
I’ll have to try this with Arborio rice!
Now that is one creative way to make cacti irresistable!
Ooh! My mouth is watering. You know I love me some nopalitos. I make a cheesy rice dish with broccoli, but this sounds so good I’m switching to nopales next time I make it. 🙂