Prickly Pear Margarita

      

We’ve all heard about Strawberry Margaritas, but how 
about a Prickly Pear Margarita?
Len and I were recently hiking in near-by Rice Canyon in Chula Vista, 
California, one of the many canyons in the....
San Diego area known for its natural cactus and chapparal  vegetation. 
I used to hike in this canyon when I was a child and past images came to my mind - branches of cholla cactus sticking to my hand as I brushed past 
– my friend’s mother donning garden gloves and pliers to remove the 
prickles from my hand.

- That day as we walked in the canyon, the fruits from the Prickly Pear Cactus 
were out in abundance, their red color contrasting with the green spiky paddles 
of the plant. 
Len said that people have been eating this cactus fruit for many 
centuries and was a major source of food and medicine for Native Americans. 
I felt a major ‘What Tha!’ coming on and started to ponder what 
I could make with this fruit. It came to me suddenly 
– what about aPrickly Pear Margarita!

Prickly Pear fruit (called tuna in Spanish) has a subdued flavour 
with a cross between a watermelon and a plum. 
However, when puréed and added to a Margarita, it can turn 
an ordinary cocktail into something extraordinary!

Prickly Pear Cactus in Rice Canyon

You’ll need Garden Gloves 
and Pliers to harvest the fruit

You have to be very careful in picking 
the Prickly Pear fruit- the prickles are 
almost invisible and are rather difficult to remove 
if lodged in your skin. 
For my Margarita, I decided to buy the Prickly Pears 
from a local Mexican supermarket, where the prickles 
had already been removed.

To prepare the Prickly Pear:

 First, cut the fruit in half length-wise:

  Next, scoop out the seeds:

   Cut around the inner fruit 
to separate it from the outer skin:

 And here is the delicious pulp 
from the Prickly Pear!

 To Prepare the Prickly Pear Purée:
- First, prepare a syrup with a 
1:2 ratio- I brought 1/4 cup water to a boil, 
then added 1/2 cup sugar and stirred for several minutes.
- Reduce the heat; then add 3/4 Prickly Pear fruit 
and stir until the fruit mixture becomes soft.

Purée the mixture in a blender, 
ready to be added to your fantastic 
Prickly Pear Margarita!

Serves: 2

Ingredients

- 4 ounces Tequila
- 2 ounces Triple Sec (Cointreau)
- 2 ounces Lime Juice
- ½ cup crushed ice
- 2 – 4 tsp Prickly Pear Purée

Instructions

- Add the Tequila, Triple Sec (Cointreau), 
lime juice and crushed ice into a blender and 
pulse until blended.
- Stir in 2 – 4 tsp Prickly Pear purée to taste.

*leggi qui gdaysouffle.com