This is not a joke. The nutty flavour and satisfying crunch of these edible insects – crickets, grasshoppers, and mealworms – pair perfectly with the salad of thinly sliced button mushrooms and the olive oil and lime dressing.
OK, it may seem a little weird. However, eating edible insects is becoming more generally accepted. No more is it something you do during those off-the-beaten-track South East Asian experiences. Have you tried deep-fried tarantulas in Cambodia? Here the bugs are combined with a mushroom carpaccio – a raw mushroom salad.
Edible mealworms and edible grasshoppers are high in protein, healthy fats, iron and calcium, and are low in carbohydrates. And they taste good – quite a nutty flavour. But most importantly, as a source of protein, eating insects is significantly better for the environment than eating beef. To produce 1 kg of insect protein requires 1 litre of water. To produce 1 kg of protein from beef requires 22,000 litres of water. And then there is the land usage and pollution issues to consider.
Eating insects is quite common in South East Asia. I have fond memories of eating deep-fried coconut grubs in Myanmar (like an explosion of peanut butter in your mouth). And then there are the Highway 4 restaurants in Hanoi. Their Crickets roasted w/Lemon Leaves & Pork Fat is one of my favourites. BTW, their Catfish Spring Rolls are also wonderful and inspired this recipe.
If you have Netflix, watch a documentary called bugs where “A willing team of chefs and researchers goes on a gastronomic adventure around the globe to weigh the benefits of using bugs as a future food source.” This New Yorker article is a good read if you want to dig deeper.
And then, there is the question, are insects sentient? And do people really eat scorpion tacos?
Eat Crawlers
This Insect Mixture, though, is being produced in New Zealand – perhaps not so surprising for a country that is so passionate about Marmite and hosts a Wildfoods Festival. The company producing this product, Eat Crawlers, have a great web site with lots of useful information. Note they also sell chocolate-coated tarantulas and scorpion lollipops.
Mushroom salad with edible insects
Equipment
- Mandoline
Ingredients
- 300 g white and/or brown button mushrooms
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil use the best you can get
- 1 Tbsp truffle oil or an extra Tbsp of olive oil
- 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- Grated zest of 1 lime
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup parsley finely diced
- 15 g dried insects see text
Instructions
- Wash and dry the mushrooms, and trim off the stalks (keep for a stock)
- Slice the mushrooms very finely. Ideally use a mandoline set on its finest setting.
- Whisk together the olive oil, truffle oil, lime juice, lime zest, mustard, crushed garlic, balsamic, and pepper.
- Add the insects to the mushrooms, pour over the dressing, and toss gently.
- Allow to sit for 15 to 30 minutes before serving.
- Top with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve.
Grilled octopus on baked beans
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