Processing Prickly pears
It’s prickly pear season.
You’ve probably walked past these underrated fruits in the supermarket. Maybe you thought about that time when you were a kid and you got needled by a miniscule prickly pear thorn in between your fingers and couldn’t get it out for days (well, I did). So then you continued on past.
Because how do you even get to the hydrating seedy fresh deliciousness under the skin without getting poked all over? My answer is simple. Stop. Buy some. And do it like this:
Photos: Chris de Beer
- Cut the top and tail off. Then use a serrated knife to make a lengthwise slit. Use a fork to grip the prickly pear so you don’t have to use your fingers.
- Use the knife blade to hold the skin down close to your chopping board
- Use the fork to roll the fruity bit in the opposite direction than the knife blade
- Roll it all the way
- Ta-da! Now slice up in big chunks (not too small or they’ll fall apart because of the seeds).
- If you have the book already, try the vibrant Beetroot, prickly pear and baby spinach salad with feta (or cottage cheese- one of my fave salad ingredients) recipe on page 070.
PS. I’m truly sorry about my crotch in the background of these photos. It was early days haha. We only had a low table.