It’s that time of year that I’m foraging in my yard for edibles. The new cactus pads are starting, so I’m harvesting them. And I’ve been waiting to see if the yucca was going to put out a bloom stalk. Last year I wanted to try yucca blossoms, and my plants didn’t produce stalks. This year is a different story. I plucked a couple blossoms and tasted them, and they are tender and delicious. We had them alone as a salad, then as part of a salad. Because they are mild flavor, I used an oil and vinegar that wouldn’t overpower their flavor.
It’s also interesting to add them to soups, as floating garnish on top.
Yucca Blossom Salad
Ingredients
- Yucca blossoms
- Peach balsamic vinegar (or other flavored balsamic or rice vinegar)
- Walnut oil (or oil of your choice)
- Salt
Instructions
- Place yucca blossoms in a bowl.
- Drizzle with vinegar and oil.
- Sprinkle with salt.
- Toss lightly and serve.
Love the Yucca salad recipe, thank you. Please let me know what to do with the new cactus pads? I enjoy trying all things edible in the wild and looking for them. Thanks for sharing all your goodies.
Like you, I like to make use of all the edibles I can find. Right now it’s yucca, cactus, and mushrooms. For cactus, start with the frittata recipe, for links on cleaning. Here are some other recipes you might get some ideas from: tacos, nopales and potato, grilled cactus salad. I sit in the backyard to clean the pads, because it’s messy. You’ll need a table and chair, cutting board, tongs, knife for scraping and trimming, and bowl for cleaned pads. In case you want to give puffball mushrooms a try, they are round, and you must cut them open, they must be evenly white. If there is anything that has a pattern on the inside, throw them out. Here’s a link, for the ones I collect – Wild Mushrooms