Prickly pear cactus in bloom.
The Gourmet Sleuth, a Web site devoted to gourmet food, explains that "nopal" refers to the prickly pear cactus, part of the genus Opuntia, which has different species of flat-stemmed cactuses with 3-inch-long thorns. Species vary in height from 1 foot to 20 feet. In summer, some prickly pear cacti produce red, purple, orange and white flowers. While it may sound unusual to harvest a cactus plant, nopal's stems (pads) are edible. Get ready to gather them any time between spring and late summer. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Wear heavy gloves.
Put thick gloves on to protect your hands from the prickly thorns on the nopal cactus pads.
2. Harvest short pads.
Look for cactus pads no more than 8 inches long.
3. Use a sharp knife or your hands to harvest nopal pads.
Cut the nopal cactus pads with a knife at the point where they sprout. It's also possible to snap the pads by bending them with your hands.
4. Peel the spines off.
Scrape the surface of the harvested pads with a vegetable peeler to remove all of the thorns.
5. Try a cactus burrito.
Wash the cactus pads and prune off any blemishes. Your nopal harvest is ready to go in your recipes.
Tags: cactus pads, your hands, nopal cactus, nopal cactus pads, pads with, pear cactus, prickly pear