This came up over in the cooking thread. So I thought I'd crosspost the info here.
Prickly pear cactus pads (nopales) are traditional eats in Mexican cuisine. Usually you'll see them served as part of en egg dish, or in a burrito.
They are best picked young and small, no more than 3/8" thick. Springtime is the best season.
After picking, I washed the pad, and de-spined it. I use tongs to hold it, and the run the blade of a knife along the surface to cut them off. I use a vegetable brush to get the glochids (the tiny hair-like spines) off. I've heard you can also burn them off on a stove burner or grill.
Then I cut it up. At this point you can blanch the pieces or let them sit in salt and then rinse, to reduce the slime. If you like okra, you can skip this step.
Then you can sautee them, boil them, include them in a stew, fry them, what have you.
Supposedly they are very good for you too, with blood sugar and cholesterol lowering properties.
More detailed info here:
http://www.goodhealth.com/articles/2...as_a_vegetable
Here are some cactus fries I made last night:
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I cut it into pieces, and blanched them, hoping to reduce the slime. Then I dredged them in Zatarain's fish fry, and fried them:
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The fruits (also called tunas) are also edible, and quite tasty! Last year I gathered many:
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After de-spining, peeling, blending them (you can also break them down by cooking), and straining them:
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I got quite a bit of juice:
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Which which, I made:
Syrup (some intentionally, some was meant to be jelly, but failed)
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Wine
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You can use the syrup for pancakes, or mix with club soda or tonic water for a soda, or my fave, a margarita:
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