Tinga with chicken and nopal cactus (Tinga de pollo y nopales)
A nice traditional mexican recipe for Tinga, this time with chicken and nopal. When you see ingredients such as nopal, avocados, tortillas and chipotles all in the same dish, this dish can’t get much more mexican than this! As mentioned elsewhere, a Tinga refers to some kind of stewed dish, where many different ingredients are combined.
Recipe for Tinga with chicken and nopal cactus:
Ingredients:
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* ½ teaspoon of oregano
* 1 teaspoon pepper
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon cumin
* 6 nopal cactus pads
* 1 teaspoon pepper
* 3 tablespoons of the oil, the nopal strips cooked in
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 red onion, in slices
* 2 cans (5.5 oz.) tomato paste
* 4 canned chipotle chiles in Adobo, chopped finely
* 1 tablespoon Adobo from the chipotle can
* 2 teaspoons thyme
* 3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
* 1 teaspoon pepper
* 1 avocado ripe but still firm, in slices
* 1 cup crumbled panela cheese; substitute with mild cheddar if unavailable
* 2 cups tortillas sliced in juliennes, then fried in oil
Making this mexican recipe now:
1) Using a sharp knife, carefully remove all the spines from the nopal cactus pads, scraping a thin layer of cactus skin and then cutting off the edges; once the spines are off then slice the cactus pads in strips. Cook the chicken breasts in a skillet with a drizzle olive oil; shred the chicken to small bits.
2) We turn to mixing in a bowl the olive oil, oregano, pepper and salt. Coat well the cactus pads in a generous amount of oil and cook them in a skillet, previously made very hot. Season with a little salt and pepper. Reserve.
3) In a skillet, pour 3 tablespoons of the oil the cactus was cooked in, in this oil fry the onions a few minutes then the minced garlic. Add the tomato paste, also the chopped chipotle chiles, the adobo, the shredded chicken, thyme, cumin and simmer everything 3 minutes. Adjust seasoning to your taste.
When serving, first ladle some tinga sauce first, then place some cactus strips over the tinga, some avocado slices then finally top with the crispy tortilla strips and some grated cheese over it all...
