Tortitas de Camarón con Nopalitos

Tortitas / Shrimp patties:
2 eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons ground dry shrimp
1 teaspoon Flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying

Separate egg whites and beat with an electric egg beater until stiff peaks appear. Gently fold in egg yokes. Fold in dry shrimp and flour.
In a frying pan heat 1/2 cup of vegetable oil. Using a tablespoon, drop prepared batter into hot oil. Turn each patty when golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Makes about 8 Tortitas or patties. Set aside.

Nopales / Cactus:
One 16 oz bag of pre-cut nopales
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 white onion

Buy the fresh, pre-cut nopales in a bag. Usually found in the produce section.
Bring 4 cups water to a boil and add cactus, salt and onion Let simmer for about 3-4minutes or until tender. Rinse well in hot water. Drain and rinse in cold water. Remove onion. Set aside cactus.

Caldito:
4 cups Chicken broth
1 can tomato sauce
4 to 6 dry Chile California pepper pods
2 garlic cloves
Salt to taste
White pepper to taste
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Soak the uncooked dry Chile pods in cold water for about twenty minutes. Rinse and pull stem to drain seeds. Rinse again in cold water. Boil for 10 minutes till soft and bright red. Drain. In a blender put cooked Chile pods, chicken broth, corn starch, salt and garlic and blend till mixture is completely pureed. Strain through medium sized strainer to remove any seeds or unpureed pieces of chili. Add a little more broth if needed for blending.

Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in large sauté pan and pour in mixture. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add shrimp patties and nopales then let simmer for 5 minutes. Serve in shallow soup bowls