So after a gruesome summer of watching one napole after another shrivel up and blow away, I'm down to my last one. Anecdotally, I've been told to just lie the napole on the ground and it will root. This hasn't worked.
Googling, I find that it is recommended to set the napole on its' side and bury a small part of it.
I am using a half barrel with hill side clay at the bottom and mixed with cactus potting soil (1-1) for the top 8". The "last nopale" has sprouted another nopale but I am too afraid to move it to see if it is rooted.
Lacking any comment to the contrary, I intend to check the napale for roots today, and in the event that I don't find any, rotating it from its' face to its' side and planting a quarter of it in the ground.
And my CSA told me to lie them on the ground, apparently, at that point I forgot your advice. If struggling to survive makes for a healthyier plant, then the food from this CSA must be incredibly healthy.
Like watermelons, the stolen ones are always the sweetest;O)) The last of the nopales (the largest) rooted itself (whew, what a relief). It was way cool to watch the nopale bud. At first I thought that it was a weed growing on the cactus. Today it is obviously a new nopale growing from the first :O)
If you can't beat them, join them and do as I do with my dandelions, I eat them. Prickly pears are free food and can double as a primer, if you decide to whitewash your house ;O). The fruit is supposed to taste like water melon (or was that chicken? No, I'm sure it is watermelon:O).
I have eaten a lot of prickly pears when I lived in Malta. Yes, they are a bit like melon but have biggish seeds in them and they are delicious. If you touch the outer skin, the fine hairs will penetrate into your skin and they are sore. The people with carts that sold them house to house in Malta, used to cut the skin, turn them inside out and offer them, to allow the customer to take out the fruit themselves. The skin on their hands were hard.
To make prickly pear jelly?or prickly pear anything, for that matter?you've got to start with juice and/or pulp. Burn the barbs off the prickly pears by holding them with tongs over a flame. Then cool and rinse the pears with cold water. There are many methods described on the internet for extracting the juice. The way we have found best is to slice the fruit (you need not skin it) into quarters and put in a pot with just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and boil until the color has left the pears. The liquid will be a beautiful rich ruby cranberry color. Mash with a potato masher and strain the juice and water through a colander with two layers of cheesecloth to remove the seeds and pulp. You can freeze the plain Prickly Pear juice you make for later use. It freezes fine for well over a year. Be sure to keep any juice you want to freeze unsweetened. Wash and peel ripe prickly pears. Cut in half with a knife and scoop out the seeds. Force the raw pulp through a medium to fine strainer. Freeze either fruit pulp or the puree. Simply pack into freezer containers and seal. Thaw before using. Be sure to keep any puree you want to freeze unsweetened.
2 1/2 cups prickly pear juice
5 cups sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice**
1 package powdered pectin Measure juice. Combine pear juice, pectin. and lemon juice in a large saucepan or kettle. Bring mixture to a rolling boil. Hard boil cactus fruit juice, pectin and lemon juice for 3 minutes. Hard boil means the point at which the brew still bubbles even when you stir it. Add sugar and bring back to a hard boil for 2 minutes. Put in canning jars, seal and boil process for 20-25 minutes. Remove the jars from the boiling bath and turn upside down for 5 minutes. Now, turn them back right side up and allow to sit overnight. Your jelly is now ready and has been canned and can be stored for up to a year.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup prickly pear jelly
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.
Mix oil, egg, and milk and add to dry ingredients. Stir until moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Fill greased muffin tins half full. Place 1 teaspoon of jelly in the exact center of each muffin, with jelly not touching edges. Add remaining batter, covering jelly, so that tins are two-thirds full.
2 each prickly pear cactus fruit
1/2 each banana
2 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1/2 each lemon, juice of
1/2 each lime, juice of Peel skin off of prickly pears and the banana and put the fruit into a blender. Add the honey, vinegar, lemon and lime juices and blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and ground black pepper. If too sweet for your tastes add more vinegar. If too tart add more honey. If too thin add more banana. If too thick add a dash of apple juice. Strain through a fine sieve before serving.
1 lb. unsalted butter
2 each prickly pear cactus fruit or 1/2 c. of another fruit or berry of your choice, strawberries, or raspberries, etc.
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 c. honey Salt, to taste Let butter soften slightly in a mixing bowl or food processor. Peel and puree the cactus fruit; strain the juice through a fine strainer. Add: the juice, cilantro, honey and salt to the mixing bowl or food processor; blend until smooth and all is incorporated. Put into the refrigerator until it begins to stiffen. Lay out a small sheet of wax paper or plastic wrap and spread out some of the butter in a small strip. Roll up the paper or plastic like a cigar and twist the ends until it becomes a tight package. Freeze until hard and return to refrigerator to soften slightly for easy slicing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- PRICKLY PEAR PIE (VERSION 1) This luscious dessert looks something like cherry pie, but has a distinctive taste all its own. (And texture, too, if you don't remove all the skins and seeds from the pulp!)
4 cups of prickly pear pulp
1-1 /4 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon of flour or cornstarch
1 nine-inch pie shell pie crust dough Preheat the oven to 350°. Stir the pulp, sugar, and flour (or cornstarch) together thoroughly in a large mixing bowl, then pour the mixture into the pie shell and crisscross the shell with 1/2"-wide strips of pie crust dough. Bake at 350° until the pie's cover is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. PRICKLY PEAR PIE (VERSION 2) This recipe differs from the one above?and, in fact, from most pie recipes?in the kind of crust used.
3-1/2 cups of prickly pear pulp
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
1 stick of margarine or butter
1 cup of flour
1 cup of sugar (for crust)
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla Place the pulp, cup of sugar, and water in a saucepan and boil (with stirring) until the sugar is completely dissolved ... then remove from heat and set aside. (This will be the filling.) To prepare the crust, begin by putting the margarine (or butter) in a large baking casserole and placing the casserole? in turn?in the oven as it preheats to 350°. Then, in a clean bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, and vanilla together and pour the resulting mixture?which should have the consistency of pancake batter?into the hot casserole, atop the melted margarine (DO NOT STIR). Then?in the center of (and on top of) the crust mixture?pour the filling. (Here again, DO NOT STIR.) Now slide the whole works into the 350° oven. During the baking period, the batter for the crust will actually rise over and completely cover the pie's filling. (Don't take my word for it . . . try it yourself!) The pie is done when the crust is completely brown.
1 1/2 pounds ripe pears thinly sliced, about 3 cups
1 cup pear juice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup corn syrup Directions: Combine the pears, the pear juice and the lemon juice in heavy saucepan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Transfer to processor; puree until smooth. Chill until cold.
Whisk the egg yolks, vanilla and the sugar in a bowl to blend. Bring 1 cup of cream to simmer in a saucepan. Gradually whisk hot cream into yolk mixture. Return to the same saucepan.. Stir over low heat until the custard thickens and leaves path on back of spoon when a finger is drawn across, about 7 minutes. Do not the mixture boil. Pour through strainer into bowl. Mix in the other cup of cream. Cool for 15 minutes.
Add the corn syrup and the 3 cups of pear puree to the custard and whisk until blended Chill custard until cold, at least 4 hour or overnight.
Transfer custard to ice cream maker. Process according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to covered container and freeze.
25 prickly pears
4 cups sugar
1 qt. spring water
1 qt prickly pear juice
1 3/4 qt cranberry juice
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 egg, in shell pinch of salt sprig of mint
Instructions: To make water-sugar syrup, mix the water and sugar together in a stainless steel saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Burn the barbs off the prickly pears by holding them with tongs over a flame. Peel the fruit, then puree it in a food processor or blender. Strain and mix with cranberry juice, lemon juice and salt. Mix pear mixture with about one-third of its volume of the water-sugar syrup, stirring well. Put in a 4-quart ice cream churn container and add one uncooked egg, in its shell, which has been washed carefully and dried with paper towels. A patch of the egg's surface, between the size of a dime and a quarter, should show. If it does not, gradually add more syrup until the small white eye of the shell appears. Remove egg and discard. Churn sorbet mixture until it turns opaque and to superfine ice. It will be ready to serve at just about the same time as the machine stops. Sorbet can be kept in the freezer after churning for a few hours, but its silky texture changes the longer it is frozen. Scoop and garnish with a sprig of mint.
1/2 cup prickly pear puree
1/3 cup salad oil (not olive oil)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
3 to 4 Tbs. tarragon white wine vinegar Shake all ingredients together in a covered jar. Makes about 1 cup . This pretty pink dressing is thin like an oil and vinegar dressing, but lower in calories. Good on fruit salads and tossed green salads.
3 medium red onions, 2 whole, 1 minced
1 tablespoon canola oil
3/4 cup frozen prickly pear cactus puree, thawed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon coriander seed, freshly toasted and ground
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seed, freshly toasted and ground
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 serrano chiles, ribs and seeds removed, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/2 cup white Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup tequila
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lime juice
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons kosher salt Coat the whole red onions with canola oil and roast until inside layers are very soft, about 1 hour. Peel the onions and discard outer layers if blackened. Place in blender with prickly pear cactus puree and blend at high speed until completely smooth. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute minced onions until lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add coriander, cumin, pepper flakes, serrano, garlic, and lime zest. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add Worcestershire, tequila, cider vinegar and lime juice. Cook over medium-high heat until reduced by half. Stir in onion/cactus fruit puree, water and salt, to taste, and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and swirl in the remaining butter. The sauce may be blended to achieve a smoother consistency or left as it is. This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.
1 tbsp. canola oil
2 medium red onions left whole with skin on
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
4 oz. red onion, minced
1/2 tsp. coriander seed, freshly toasted and ground
1 1/2 tsp. cumin seed, freshly toasted and ground
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 tbsp. seeded, minced serrano chile
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp. Lemon Zest, thawed
1 oz. lime juice
4 oz. white Worcestershire sauce 4 oz. high quality tequila
2 oz. apple cider vinegar
6 oz. Prickly Pear Fruit, thawed
8 oz. water
2 tsp. kosher salt
Preheat oven to 350° F. Coat the whole red onions with canola oil and roast for 1 hour or until inside layers are well softened. Peel the onions and discard outer layers if blackened. Place in blender with Prickly Pear Cactus Fruit purée and blend at high speed until completely smooth.
Heat 1 tbsp. of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Sauté minced onions 5 minutes or until lightly caramelized. Add coriander, cumin, pepper flakes, serrano chile, garlic and Sweet Lemon Zest puree. Sauté
2-3 minutes.
Add lime juice, Worcestershire, tequila and cider vinegar. Reduce by 1/2 over medium high heat.
Stir in onion, Prickly Pear Cactus Fruit puree, water and salt, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and skim any foam that forms on the surface. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
Remove from heat and swirl in the remaining butter. The sauce may be blended to achieve a smoother consistency or left as it is. This sauce lends itself equally well to grilled or roasted fish, fowl or pork items. It should be brushed on to seasoned portions before and during grilling, or brushed on to larger roasts repeatedly during the final 25 minutes of roasting. Serve with additional sauce.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chipotle-Prickly Pear BBQ Sauce Chef: Barry Brook Restaurant: Rancho de los Caballeros
12 tomatoes, blackened
6 poblano peppers
5 cups bacon, crisped and chopped, fat reserved
2 quarts yellow onions, chopped rough
1 cup garlic cloves, roasted, chopped rough
3 cups red wine
1 quart apple cider
1/2 quart Worcestershire sauce
3/4 balsamic vinegar
1 cup chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped rough
1 cup honey
3 cups turbinado sugar
1 cup molasses
1 cup prickly pear syrup
1/4 cup roux, if needed
Deep-fry poblano peppers. Place in a paper or plastic bad or in a tightly covered metal bowl. When chilies are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins. Remove seeds and chop coarsely.
In a heavy-bottomed pot, sauté poblanos, bacon, onions and roasted garlic in reserved bacon fat. When onions are translucent, add red wine; reduce by half. Add tomatoes, apple cider, Worcestershire and balsamic vinegar; reduce by half. Add chipotle chilies with adobo, molasses, prickly pear syrup and turbinado sugar. A little at a time, place mixture in a food processor; puree in batches until smooth. Pour mixture back in the pot and simmer for 1 hour. Stir in roux if thicker consistency is desired. Remove from heat, place pot in an ice bath. When cool, pour mixture into reusable containers. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Makes 100 servings.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beef Brisket With Prickly Pear Sauce Chef: Richard Lepree Restaurant: Rancho de los Caballeros
3 to 4 lbs. beef brisket, trimmed of fat
2 medium-sized onions
1/2 quart prepared barbecue sauce
1 bottle dark beer
1 cup prickly pear syrup Salt and pepper to taste
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the beer, prickly pear syrup and barbeque sauce. Clean the brisket and cut in half. Slice onions to
1/4-inch thickness and layer 1/3 of them in a Dutch oven or deep casserole dish. Layer 1/2 of brisket on top of onions, and top with salt and pepper, another 1/3 of the onions, and 1/2 the sauce mixture. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Cook in the oven at 250 degrees for four hours or until cooking liquid is reduced by at least half. Serve immediately.
Makes 6 servings.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- Lime Granita and Prickly Pear Chipotle Granita
Ingredients:
11/2 c. sugar (granulated)
11/2 c. water
1/2 c. lime juice (about 4 limes)
11/2 tsp. lime zest . green food coloring
1qt. ice cubes
11/2 c. sugar (granulated)
11/2 c. water
11/5 c. prickly pear juice
2 tsp. pureed Chipotle
2 T. small black currents
1qt. ice cubes
Method of Preparation:
Place 5" and 3" stainless bowls and a stainless spoon in freezer.
Place sugar and water in small sauce pan. Heat until sugar melts. Place in refrigerator. Cool completely.
In blender place cold sugar water, lime juice, lime zest and ice cubes. Blend to break up cubes into pea size pieces.
Add food coloring to make darker, brighter green.
Take larger bowl from freezer. Pour in mixture. Put smaller bowl on top and weight down with ice cubes until an even 1" shell is make from Granita mixture.
Put back in freezer.
Stir mixture every 30 minutes, or as ice crystals form. Replace top bowl each time to keep shape.
Place 3" bowl and stainless spoon in freezer
Place sugar and water in small sauce pan. Heat until sugar melts. Place in refrigerator. Cool completely.
In blender place cold sugar water, prickly pear juice, Chipotle, and ice cubes. Blend to break up cubes into pea size pieces.
Take 5" bowl from freezer. Pour in mixture. Fold in black currents (mixture should be slushy enough to keep currents suspended throughout). Put back in freezer. 12. Stir mixture every 30 minutes, or as ice crystals form.
When lime Granita is firm enough to hold its shape, remove top bow, and continue to freeze. When prickly pear Granita is frozen, dip quickly into hot water, and slide into lime Granita shell. Cover with plastic and keep in freezer until use.
Invert Granita (s) on board. Cut in wedges (like Watermelon). Use to garnish dessert plate.
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