Nopales y Frijoles, Celebrating Indigenous culture through food

Los Frijoles/The Beans

For this recipe, use fresh ingredients for the best results. 

2 cups of beans

4 cups of Water

Salt to taste, don’t be light, you want to taste the salt. 

3 tablespoons of Olive oil

Bay leaf

2 Dashes of cinnamon

One good squeeze of a lemon half

2 sweet peppers(ex Annaheim), diced

Cup of acorn squash, diced and peeled

⅓ cup of onion, diced

A bunch of Cilantro(to taste), diced

In a large pot, you will put in all the ingredients with enough water to submerge everything about an inch in. 

Bring to a rolling boil for 30 mins. 

You will notice the beans absorb the water. You will have to add water and salt as they cook so that the beans remain semi-submerged in the water. 

Lower the heat so that the boil calms a bit. 
Allow the beans to continue to cook until they are creamy in texture. 

Continue to taste for flavor. Add more olive oil if needed for flavor. 

You will notice the beans start to thicken, becoming stew-like. That is when they are done. 

The Nopalitos

2-4 nopal huaraches(pads), diced

Half of an onion, diced

Jalapeños, diced

Tomato, diced

Garlic to taste, diced 

Salt to taste

You will need to clean the nopal of the spines with a knife. Gentle scraping of the outer edges along the spine nodes. Rinse and clean.

You will then slice or dice the nopales.

Dice an onion of your choice. I use red or yellow onion. 

Dice your peppers.  

On a hot comal, put the nopales, peppers, and onions down with a light amount of oil. Here you can steam them by applying a top to cover them for 4 mins.

After the food becomes soft, you can add the 3-4 garlic cloves, diced and tomatoes. 

Allow the garlic to cook. Once it appears golden, you can turn the heat off and your nopales are ready.

Warm up some tortillas and Buen provecho 

You have yourself a truly delicious plate of frijoles and nopales.

Nopales and Frijoles are both traditional and healthy dishes made by Indigenous peoples across Abya Yala. This recipe is one passed down culturally in Texas.

The colonial powers that continue to tear our communities today have failed to erase us. Consider this blog a symbol of our lasting tradition that continues to feed the world population. From one native boy to the world, with respect and love, and peace.

Goco