Best Prickly Pear Cactus Recipes

PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS MARGARITA

Steps:

• Pour salt into a small plate. Wet the rim of a margarita glass and dip rim into salt.
• Fill a cocktail shaker with ice; pour tequila, sweet and sour mix, triple sec, lime juice, and pear syrup over ice. Cover shaker and shake drink; strain into prepared margarita glass.

TUNA ( PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS FRUIT ) JELLY

Steps:

• Pluck the fruit from the cactus with a long handled fork or tongs.
• Put on rubber gloves to protect your hands: wash fruit under running water, then use a brush to clean (spines left on the fruit will soften during the cooking process and should come off after the fruit is strained).
• Place in stockpot with about a cup of water.
• Stir until boiling, cover pan and simmer until tender and soft.
• Mash cooked fruit and strain using cheesecloth, a jelly bag or a fine sieve; set aside for juice to settle (for very clear jelly, do not use the portion containing sediment).
• Measure sugar into a separate pan.
• Bring juice and pectin just to boil, stirring constantly, and begin to add sugar slowly with constant stirring, taking about 5 minutes to add sugar, and keeping juice nearly at a boil.
• Then bring to a rolling boil and boil for three minutes longer.
• Remove from heat, let stand a few seconds, skim, pour quickly into jars and seal while hot.
• Process for ten minutes in a boiling water bath.

HUARACHES - STUFFED PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS PADDLES - STUFFED NOPALE

Steps:

• Place the whole cactus paddles, onion and garlic in a large pot with water to cover and salt to taste.
• Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes, or until the nopales are tender but still firm.
• Drain and rinse.
• Starting at the wide, curved end, carefully slice each paddle horizontally, as if butterflying a chop for stuffing.
• Do not cut all the way through to the narrow end (the thicker part where the pad is attached to the main plant) but leave approximately 1 1/2" uncut.
• Place a slice of cheese between the two sections and press flat.
• Dredge the paddles in flour.
• Beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks, and fold in the lightly beaten egg yolks.
• Pour enough oil into large skillet so that it comes up at least 1/2 inch.
• Heat the oil until sizzling hot.
• Dip the stuffed nopales in the egg batter to coat and fry in the hot oil until golden brown on each side.
• Serve immediately with red salsa.

NOPAL CACTUS WITH PRICKLY PEAR VINAIGRETTE AND TOASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS

Steps:

• Preheat grill.
• Place paddles over open grill and cook until just soft. Set aside.
• Place oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add onions and saute until caramelized. Set aside.
• Slice cactus paddles and arrange on plate. Place onions over the top and sprinkle with pumpkinseeds. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the cactus; squeeze lime over the top and set the lime wedges on the plate.
• Place the vinegars, mustard, raspberries and syrup in a blender and puree. Add mango and puree until smooth. Strain the dressing and add salt and pepper to taste.

PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS FRUIT ) JELLY RECIPE - (4.3/5)

Steps:

• Pluck the fruit from the cactus with a long handled fork or tongs. 2 Put on rubber gloves to protect your hands: wash fruit under running water, then use a brush to clean (spines left on the fruit will soften during the cooking process and should come off after the fruit is strained). 3 Place in stockpot with about a cup of water. 4 Stir until boiling, cover pan and simmer until tender and soft. 5 Mash cooked fruit and strain using cheesecloth, a jelly bag or a fine sieve; set aside for juice to settle (for very clear jelly, do not use the portion containing sediment). 6 Measure sugar into a separate pan. 7 Bring juice and pectin just to boil, stirring constantly, and begin to add sugar slowly with constant stirring, taking about 5 minutes to add sugar, and keeping juice nearly at a boil. 8 Then bring to a rolling boil and boil for three minutes longer. 9 Remove from heat, let stand a few seconds, skim, pour quickly into jars and seal while hot. 10 Process for ten minutes in a boiling water bath

PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS

Steps:

• 1. For a sweeter taste use sugar instead of the salt and pepper.
• 2. Combine oil, salt/pepper or sugar
• 3. Place the cacti pads on the grill or BBQ for 10 minutes on each side. While on the grill/BBQ brush each side of the cactus pad with the oil mixture. Serve straight away.

PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS AND CRANBERRY JELLY RECIPE

Steps:

• Singe cactus fruit to remove the spines from the fruit. Cut fruit up and just barely cover with water. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Run the juice through some cheesecloth and save the juice. Measure prepared juice and lemon juice into a 6- or 8-quart saucepan. Measure sugar into separate bowl, and set aside. Add 1 package of pectin to fruit juice and mix thoroughly. Bring to a rapid boil over high heat, constantly stirring to prevent scorching. When full rolling boil, add sugar and mix well. Bring to full rolling boil and continue to boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam. Fill hot jars and quickly cover with lids and screw bands tightly. Process the filled jars in boiling water for 15 minutes. Turn jars on lids (upside down) for 5 minutes and then turn upright. After 1 hour check to see that all have sealed. This recipe yields ?? servings.

NAPOLITOS -PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS GOULASH

Steps:

• Pour about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in your pan or crock pot. Of you choose to put fresh garlic and onions put them in! Put choice of meat in and brown it all up.
• While sauteing open all jars and cans. The Prickly Pear cactus is pickeled so I put it in a colander and wash it real quick to chase away the vinegar.
• Dump it all in the pan or crock pot. Cook until hot enough and enjoy.
• Brown rice I always give just a tad more water. In this case half a cup of brown rice 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of water to cook it. Sometimes you can cook rice in a soup broth too. Yum

NOPALES (PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS) STEW

Steps:

• How to prepare the Nopales: Slice up the pads first lengthwise then horizontally. You should have cuts of various sizes. Boil in water for 5-6 min. Strain in colander and repeat. The nopales are now prepared.
• Chop and saute the onion and garlic.
• Pour all the cans into the crock pot (pour everything inside the cans). Dump the shredded chicken, prepared nopales, and sauteed garlic and onions into the crock pot as well. Stir everything until properly mixed.
• Use whatever time interval on the crock pot fits your schedule. Make sure dish is warm before serving. A Dutch Oven can be used as substitute for the crock pot. Again make sure stew is warm and ready before serving. Suggest chips and fresh fruit (preferably tropical) for accompaniment.

CACTUS FRUIT | PRICKLY PEAR GUM DROPS

Steps:

• Spray an 8 x 8 glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Then set it aside.
• In a large saucepan, combine the pureed and de-seeded prickly pear cactus fruit with the applesauce.
• Whisk the pectin and a 1/2 cup sugar together in a small bowl. Once mixed well, add to the cactus fruit.
• Clip a candy thermometer onto the side of your saucepan and bring your mixture to a boil.
• Whisk in the remaining 2 cups of sugar.
• Bring everything to a boil and stir constantly until your mixture reaches 225°. (this took me less than 5 minutes)
• Remove from saucepan from the heat. (and shake your arm from all that stirring!)
• Pour the hot mixture into your 8x8 prepared glass dish.
• When slightly cool (about an hour), sprinkle sugar on top.
• Allow to set several hours (this is going to vary depended on your weather, humidity outside/inside. I recommend letting them dry at least 12 hours. (Seems like 12+ is the magic number so plan ahead)
• Once the candy is mostly set, enough to cut, cut your mixture into 1-inch squares, or use a mini cookie cutter sprayed with non-stick cooking spray to make hearts, flowers, whatever - though if you plan to use anything other than just a sharp knife, you might need to let them dry even longer, though they will dry better when cut.
• Dredge in some sugar and allow to dry another 6+ hours or overnight on a piece of parchment paper. Store covered for up to two weeks.

PONDFROGS PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS CHILI

Steps:

• brown ground beef with diced onion in pan. drain fat and place meat into large pot. if using jarred cactus drain/dice into bite-sized pieces and add to cooked meat. add diced fresh tomatoes (or can of diced tomatoes). add all other ingredients. stir well. simmer on stovetop or oven set at 325 degrees for a couple of hours stirring frequently. can also be placed in crockpot set at low and cooked until ready. if using fresh vegetables allow for additional cooking time.