I Fichi D'india [Italian Edition]

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Oh yes, chilled is a must…I kind of just swallow the seeds without thinking too much about it, actually…kinda like tapioca pudding. Unlike Mexico and other countries, Italy doesn't use the cactus paddles, but simply loves this pear shaped fruit. Villa di Castello is now just about on the outskirts of Florence but when it was built was the “country” residence of Cosimo de Medici (1519-74), the first Duke of Tuscany. We had (and I’m jealous of my childhood self here) an avocado tree, some banana trees, a mulberry tree, a loquat tree, lemon trees in abundance, apricot trees, vines and , you guessed it, prickly pears. My ex’s parents have huge old cacti, but the fichi weren’t ready to be picked yet when I was visiting last summer.

It’s hard to descibe, they don’t have a strong taste but it’s like biting into a densely packed watermelon filled with tiny seeds. Should you be around in March/April and happen to be walking along a well-known foot/bike path in Melbourne’s west, you may perchance notice a seemingly pleasant older couple strolling along, wearing gloves and hovering around a specific area, heads darting from left to right occasionally to check for passers by, also holding a strange elongated object in one hand, plastic bags in the other. It turns out that when bitterness drives you to selfish, harmful acts of revenge, you’re usually the biggest loser in the transaction. Still, I am impressed by the olive maestros’ trick of cutting the blades of a fico d’India in half and rubbing the juice into the wounds and scratches, they get on their hands and arms when pruning trees. Ever since I published these photos, I know our good friend Gil has been wondering about whether the prickly pears (fichi d’India) are ripe, and well, I’m happy to announce, the time has arrived (see left)!Cook on low heat, stirring often until the mixture thickens into a thick paste to the consistency of a thick custard or polenta. Now I wish I’d had this post to hand last year before D plucked some prickly pears from a neighbour’s cactus! Most cacti produce a good product, I have three different types from Sicily and one from Mexico… In Sicily I found a red ice cream made with fichi d’india, delicious! Sicilians love them and those of you who have travelled to Sicily would have seen them growing all over the countryside, eaten them after the meal in restaurants (as the cleansing fruit) and seen them for sale from the back of trucks on roadsides and in markets.

Rosetta's profound love for and attachment to the traditional ways of her native Sicily, along with its cuisine, literature, history and visual and performing arts, represent an important part of her life. This is P’s job, and although some people soak them in water beforehand is advisable, I’ve never seen him do it. Once ripe the Fichi are intensely sweet and full of copious amounts of tiny seeds which are all edible. As one would expect from a fruit that grows on a spiny cactus, the thick skin of the fico d’india is covered in little thorns that can really tear up your hands if you don’t know how to pick or prepare them. My aged Sicilian aunty who lives in Ragusa always warns me not to eat too many – apparently the seeds can group together and form a lump in the bowel causing constipation.One interesting tradition is winery owners giving the fruit to their grape-pickers for breakfast to prevent them from eating grapes during the harvesting. Somewhere in the northeast quarter of Sicily, as we rounded a bend by a grand but incidental rail bridge, we spotted a roadside fruit and vegetable stall.

Farmers claim it works better than Compeed, provided of course they do not puncture their thumbs on the long prickly spikes. It has an egg-shaped look with a distinctive appearance with its bright reddish-pink or orange skin and tiny spines covering its surface. Having paid the kindly, weathered, slightly feisty vendor, I walked back to the car, inexplicably wiping my mouth as I went.

They are known for their purifying properties and in folk medicine are often considered fruits with excellent therapeutic potential. Yeah I’d say the sweetness is the only thing that remotely links them, but it’s such a different sweet anyway…and I like my figs *and* fichi d’India chilled.