Prickly pear fruit (opuntia)

I got two of these in the box of organic fruit and veg that was delivered yesterday. I know you guys will have lots of tasty suggestions for preparing these. I haven't the foggiest idea - are they good raw? If so, should I peel them? What flavours do they go with? Help, please!

Yes, peel them--but wear gloves when you handle them. Learned that the hard way when I was a kid!

I've heard they make tasty margaritas.

I've seen them in stores. Never knew anyone that bought one, except when I was a kid in Tucson, another kid brought one for lunch and ate it somehow.

Let us know what you do with them. I'd be curious if they are any good.

The prickles have already been removed. What else goes in a prickly pear marguarita?

I would guess, 2 parts tequila, 1 or 1/2 part triple sec, 1 peeled prickly pear, and a dash of Rose's lime juice in a blender, with a little ice.

The 'leaves' or pads of prickly pear are also edible. The flesh is cut into strips -- nopales -- and fried ala bell peppers for fajitas.

edit: and they make a beer out of them in South Africa (where the plant has become invasive).

I like them in eggs.

Having just peeled one of my pears (about 5 inches long) and taken the seeds outta the middle, there really wasn't all that much left. A small amount of, well, sub-cutaneous matter which prolly amounted to 2-3 tablespoonsful.
It tasted ok, quite nice actually, but it's up there with the pomegranate and the persimmon as being too pippy for its own good ...
But ... the leaves ... fried ... is that the leaves of the houseplant Opuntia that I have growing on my kitchen windowsill?

The wild pears around here are much thicker and meatier than the crap you get in stores. They taste better, and more, too.

Okay, I have one more five-inch pear. My instinct is to put this in the (steel, hand-operated) juicer thingie and use the result fluids in a fruit salad ... or a gin ... whadday'all think?

limey wrote:

Okay, I have one more five-inch pear. My instinct is to put this in the (steel, hand-operated) juicer thingie and use the result fluids in a fruit salad ... or a gin ... whadday'all think?

GIN!!! now just to decide: olives or cocktail onions...????:earth:

I don't think either of those flavours will go with prickly pear juice. Perhaps I'll keep the juice for the fruit salad, and put some Tonic in the Gin ...:right: