Sabra Day

The story

Sabra is the cactus pear—prickly pear fruit—with orange to magenta flesh studded with edible seeds, tasting floral-sweet and lightly tart when chilled. Peeled carefully (the spines and glochids are no joke), it is eaten as a summer-into-autumn fruit snack from markets and roadside sellers. Juice and sorbets capture the flavor when the season peaks and the fruit is at its juiciest.

The cactus thrives in dry Mediterranean landscapes, and the fruit is a familiar sight once you know how to handle it. It needs little adornment: cold flesh, a napkin, and maybe a squeeze of lemon if you like more tartness. As a cutout subject it glows with color once the tough green peel is gone and the seedy interior shows.

On Sabra Day, peel a few chilled cactus pears with care and serve the vibrant flesh on a simple plate. Celebrate a Mediterranean-Middle Eastern fruit that tastes like warm-climate sunshine and a little bit of daring. Buy them peeled if spines make you nervous. Chill them thoroughly before you peel.