They grow on cacti and are covered with tiny thorns. They have a hard skin, ruby red flesh, and many seeds inside. Prickly pears (fico d’india) are a fruit still rarely present at the table and deserve to be revalued.
Perhaps not everyone knows that there are three edible parts of the cactus: the blades, in other words the leaves which can be cooked like any vegetable, the flower petals which can used to enrich a salad and the fruit.
The blades have more or less the same consistency as taccole (green beans), just choose them somewhat young, soft and brightly colored. To work you’ll have to wear sturdy gloves because like the fruit they are covered with small thorns called glochids and use a vegetable peeler to clean the outside of them properly. To cook them, just cut them into strips and boil them until they soften. Then you can simply season them with oil and salt or add them to other ingredients. Try grilling them as well!
The best and sweetest fruit on the other hand are those with a reddish-orange skin and ruby or dark purple flesh. To remove the glochids you have to put them in a colander under a jet of cold water and move them a bit. Only after this operation can you touch them with your hands. Usually, the ones you find in the supermarket are already ready to use. To remove the peel while they still have the thorns, simply make an incision lengthwise and with the knife accompany the cut from the inside by pulling the peel off at once.
Prickly pears, delicious eaten naturally as a fruit, but they can also be cooked in many ways. Here are some easy but super tasty recipes we recommend!
Peel Chips
Did you ever think of using prickly pear peels to make chips? Firstly, just clean them properly under a strong jet of water and then with a knife protecting your hands with gloves. Cut them into strips and pass them through some flour, then beaten eggs and finally in breadcrumbs. Fry them until they are perfectly golden on all sides.
Prickly pear and bacon bites
Perfect to serve as finger food during an aperitif and you’ll see how quickly they disappear from the tray! They are prepared by simply wrapping cubes of prickly pear with bacon and stabbing them with a toothpick. One leads to another!
Prickly pear risotto
An unusual first course perhaps, but a very tasty one. You just need to simmer the toasted rice and shallot with some white wine until it reduces and then add the prickly pear juice prepared by pureeing the fruit in a vegetable mill. If necessary, add some vegetable broth and let it all shrink as in a classic risotto. Enrich it with some chips.
Prickly pear jam
Excellent for preparing all kinds of delicious tarts and cakes, and it also goes very well with fresh or mature cheeses. It’s prepared like all other jams, by cooking in a large high pot 500 gr of prickly pear pulp with 200 gr of sugar and the juice of half a lemon. It should be stirred continuously with a wooden spoon until you drop a teaspoon on a plate and the jam remains attached.