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Monday, October 27, 2008

cactus fruit



Prickly pears or Tuna in spanish, these fruits are sweet, tart and delicious. I make a puree out of them and mix them into a vinaigrette. They have a lot of pectin so they would make a great jelly and I bet they would even ferment into a nice wine. Scoop out the pulp discard the seeds and attack with an immersion bender. They are also good eaten as they are.

Lunchtime Edit





Fish cake salad with cactus fruit balsamic reduction and tiny tomatoes. The fish cakes are made with fish a little cornmeal and a little crushed cracker bound with an egg and shaped, then fried in vegetable oil. The reduction is made by simmering some cactus fruit puree with a splash of balsamic vinegar until it thickens.

19 comments:

Joy said...

I've never even seen these much less eaten them, but you make them sound so good. I really need a chef. Anybody want to share one?

Mandi said...

Hey, do these taste anything like dragon fruit??? You have mentioned dragon fruit before and I told you they are red here - these look like our dragon fruits!!!

Darius T. Williams said...

I got to a place that makes this into a lemonade...it's great!

-DTW
www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

I have prickly pear out in my garden! It gets beautiful yellow flowers on it! But I've never tried eating it. The damn tiny invisible bristles hurt like heck!

buffalodick said...

I heard of the jelly, but never had any...

Harmony said...

These are great..and you are right, they are pretty tart.

Christo Gonzales said...

joy: You need a chef - I need a chef....I would rather have someone make my concoctions for me that way I wouldnt nibble all the way through

mandi: No they are sweet but tangy and if you get a good one they are very juicy...its like a kiwi with seeds

darius T: thats a great idea - hmmmmmmm

starrlife: when these fruits show up use gloves and pick them, you can rub the outside with a bristly kitchen sponge thingy to get rid of the soft poky bristles...

buff: its good stuff, sweet like raspberries kind of sweet

harmony: you probably see these all over your neck of the woods...

Angel said...

there's something oddly obscene about those pictures.....

and there is NO WAY you would let someone cook for you!

Romance said...

Yum, I love them and the other cacti fruits- I have eaten them with lemon juice.... there is a special kind of cactus fruit that I had on a recent trip to Mexico- it was sublime..

Anette said...

I'm with beth, there is something with the looks of that! I can't decide, obscene, scary or extremely fruity! Is it all right if I go for all three of them?

Christo Gonzales said...

beth: so whatever it is I am doing its working.....

zombie mom: wow adding tart to the tart...pucker up

anette: all three would be a good vote..if only everything was this easy.

Harmony said...

Now there is the color...magic, pure magic! I am not into fish...but that looks great.

The Blonde Duck said...

I've never eaten those before! They look cool though.

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Fish Cake Salad that sounds delectable and pickly pears wow lovely...

Christo Gonzales said...

harmony: I appreciate your appreciation....

TBD: they look really cool and exotic in an absolutely normal way - they are so abundant in the desert

ramya: well I want to try the sweet cheese that you posted today...it sounds down right tasty!

pinknest said...

mmmm...jelly! you must make!!

tavolini said...

oh goodness. Yes, I'll take those salads, please. Can you pass the fork?

Unknown said...

Fish cake salad? That sounds REALLY good! And I have never heard of that cactus stuff. I learn so much from you.

Stacey Snacks said...

I love prickly pear cactus jelly.
I buy it when I am in New Mexico and Az.
Where are you getting cactus ears in October in NY?
You are scaring me!

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