Zuppa di Fichi d’India e Prosciutto di Parma

• 12 large prickly pears
• ½ pomegranate
• salt and pepper
• juice of

Peel the prickly pears using a knife and fork. Spear the fruit on the fork, and top and tail with the knife. Make a cut lengthways, not too deeply, then peel back the skin with the blade of the knife. Reduce the flesh to a pulp using a fork.

Carefully scoop the seeds out of the half pomegranate and discard the skin and yellow pulp (which is very bitter). Add the pomegranate seeds, some