Cactus Fig And Lime Sorbet Recipes

PRICKLY PEAR SORBET

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Wearing rubber gloves, wash the cactus pears and with paper towels, rub off any prickly fuzz left on the skin. Halve the pears lengthwise. Carefully scoop out the flesh and seeds and put them into a blender, leaving the thick shells intact. Put the shells onto the baking sheets and freeze them until hard, about 1 hour.
• Add the syrup and lime juice to the blender and puree until smooth. Taste and adjust the flavor with more syrup or lime juice, to taste. Strain the puree through a fine sieve, discarding any seeds and pulp.
• Pour the sorbet into the frozen shells, smoothing the surface so they are level. Cover with plastic wrap and return the filled shells to the freezer for at least 6 hours. Frozen sorbet shells may be wrapped individually in plastic wrap and kept in the freezer for 1 week.
• Put the sugar and water into a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and cool before using. Syrup can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator, for 1 month.

CACTUS SORBET

Steps:

• Wearing your rubber gloves, wash and skin pears. Be careful of the very tiny spines. Add all ingredients except mint to a blender and puree until smooth. Reduce liquid in half on medium heat. Strain and let cool.
• Note: Before freezing the puree, adjust the flavor with sugar and cranberry juice, to taste. Freeze puree in an ice cream maker and you're ready to scoop.
• Garnish with fresh mint.

FRIED CACTUS STRIPS

Steps:

• Remove all needles and spines from cactus pads. Slice into 1/2-in.-wide strips. Wash thoroughly; drain and pat dry. Set aside. In a shallow bowl, combine flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. In another bowl, lightly beat eggs and milk. Combine the bread and saltine crumbs, chili powder, cayenne pepper and remaining salt; set aside. Dredge cactus strips in flour mixture, shake off excess. Dip in egg mixture, then coat with crumb mixture. , In a deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375°. Fry strips until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Serve with picante sauce.

CACTUS-PEAR SORBETS

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Wearing rubber gloves, wash cactus pears and with paper towels rub off any prickly fuzz left on skin. Halve cactus pears lengthwise and with a spoon carefully scoop flesh with seeds into a blender, leaving thick shells intact. Add syrup and lime juice to blender and purée until smooth. Pour cactus-pear purée through a fine sieve into a bowl and discard seeds. Put cactus shells on baking sheet and freeze while making sorbet.
• Freeze purée in an ice-cream maker. Scoop sorbet into frozen shells, smoothing surfaces so they are level. Freeze filled cactus shells at least 6 hours, or until frozen hard. Frozen sorbets in shells may be wrapped individually in plastic wrap and kept in freezer 1 week.

FIG SORBET

Steps:

• Combine the water or wine and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Add the rose geranium or rose water, remove from the heat and allow to cool. Strain if you steeped the rose geranium sprig.
• Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and purée until smooth. You may have to do this in two batches. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.
• Chill a container in the freezer. Blend the mixture with an immersion blender for 30 seconds, then freeze in an ice cream maker following the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to the chilled container and place in the freezer for 2 hours to pack. Allow to soften in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes before serving.

FRESH FIG AND LIME SORBET

Steps:

• Add 2 cups water and the sugar to a saucepan.
• Cook, stirring constantly, until the syrup boils and the sugar has dissolved; refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
• Place the figs in the bowl of a food processor; puree.
• Add the puree to the chilled syrup; stir in the lime juice.
• Taste, and add more juice if desired.
• Freeze sorbet in an ice-cream maker following the manufacturer's directions until the mixture begins to freeze.
• Then scoop mixture into a storage container, seal tightly, and freeze for several hours or overnight.
• **Black Mission figs give the sorbet a ruby color, speckled with black if the figs are unpeeled; Green figs will result in pale pink color speckled with green if left unpeeled.