Cooking With The Prickly Pear Cactus

Ingredients

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Preparation
 
The prickly pear cactus plant grows wild throughout the southern
region of Arizona where the air is warm and dry. It produces large,
green, succulent pads that bear plump, juicy fruits in the late
summer months.

NOPALES

Prickly pear pads (nopales) have been eaten by the Native Americans
for centuries. The pads are picked from the cactus but nust be
handled with care; the hairlike spines that project from the pads can
easily get caught in your skin.

Cactus pads are found in most Mexican markets. It is better to
choose the smaller and thicker deep-green pads because they are the
most tender. Usually fresh cactus pads ar esold whole. For
convenience, however, they may also be purchased in jars already
diced and even precooked in their natural juices.

To clean the whole pads, hold them with a kitchen towel and remove the
spines and rounded outside edge of the pads with a small paring knife
or vegetable peeler.

PRICKLY PEAR FRUITS

Traditionally, prickly pear fruits are harvested in late summer. A
brush made from wild grass is used to remove their fine, hairlike
prickers and soft spines. To remove the prickers in a more
conventional way, hold the fruit with metal tongs under cold running
water and scrub the prickers off with a vegetable scrubbing brush.

When selecting fruits from the marketplace, be careful to choose
those that are soft but not overripe. The may range in color from
greenish-yellow to bright red, the latter being the ripest and best
to eat. If the spines have not been removed, be careful when handling
the fruits; the spines are small and difficult to remove from your
hands. If only green fruits are available, store them at room
temperature until they ripen to red.

To extract the juice from the fruits, wash them thoroughly under cold
running water, cut off the ends, and cut in half lengthwise. Place
then in a food processor and puree to a fine pulp. Press the pulp
through a fine sieve, using a wooden spoon or spatula to remove the
seeds, which should be discarded. Use the juice according to recipe
instructions. Twelve prickly pears make approximately 1 cup ofjuice.

From "Native American Cooking," by Lois Ellen Frank

Posted by Michael Prothro KOOK-NET
:þ Mike s Resort BBS, Fayetteville,AR,(501)521-8920þ

 

 
Servings:
1

 

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