Recipes

Link: http://www.culinarymadness.webs.com

We would like to thank Matt Clark, an exploratory chef from Down Under who wrote to us and offered the following on the Witchetty Grub, a rather interestingly plump and nutritional insect! Matt's website is: http://www.culinarymadness.webs.com "The witchetty grub has always been a testing meal choice for most of us. A lot of us have contemplated indulging in one of these little creatures but the thought of a grub rolling across our palate tends to quickly turn us off. The grubs live about 60cm below the ground and feed on the roots of trees, in particular the red river gum and the black wattle tree. They can usually be spotted by a small ring of sawdust and dirt at the base of the tree and can be caught by pushing a long piece of wire with a backward facing hook down the hole and just pulling them back out. The grubs grow to about 7cm in length and are known to be high in protein. It is said that 10 witchetty grubs are sufficient to provide the daily needs of an adult. The grub can be eaten raw, but if you wish to cook them the best way is to sear them all over in a hot pan until brown, the bbq is perfect for this. You could try cooking them with some butter and even some garlic but I suggest that you keep it quite simple. The best way to eat them is to grab the head and just bite off the rest. You will find that the taste is quite pleasant having a fried egg flavour with a hint of nuts and the skin resembles that of fried chicken skin. The indigenous folk have been eating these for years and regard them as a delicacy being good tasting and a great source of nutrition. So now is the time to go and get those hands dirty and cure the doubt that you may have about these amazing creatures."

Cicada-licious

Courtesy of Created by Jenna Jadin and the University of Maryland Cicadamaniacs © 2004 University of Maryland 2nd edition

Cicadas are a delicacy in the city of Shanghai, China, where this creative recipe originated.

Ingredients:

• Cicadas
• anises
• salt
• rice wine
• mashed garlic
• celery

Directions:


Boil the cicadas and anises in salted rice wine for five minutes, then remove the cicadas. 

Sauté the mashed garlic, adding water and rice wine to make a paste.

Deep-fry the cicadas, then skewer them with bamboo picks.
Arrange them on a plate with the turnip greens, celery, and garlic paste to look like the cicadas are climbing out of a mud pie onto green foliage.

Mealworm French Fries

Ingredients:

• 4 U.S. grade No. 1 fresh potatoes (Idaho potatoes)
• 2 dozen mealworms – boiled but not roasted
• 1 cup chopped scallions
• ½ teaspoon smoked salt

Directions:

Cut and slice potatoes into preferred style, i.e. shoestring, etc. Keep the skin on to enhance the homemade appearance and flavor. If you prefer to peel your potatoes, please keep in mind that fries made from peeled potatoes should be chilled after cutting in cold water for 10 minutes to 30 minutes before frying, to ensure maximum crispiness and to prevent them from sticking together while frying.
Deep fry potatoes, mealworms and scallions together for 3 minutes in proper temperature oil. The oil is the proper temperature when the fries don’t sink when dropped in and bubbles remain on top of the oil. Always use clean oil to fry potatoes.

Tips: A little known chef’s secret to prevent the potatoes from darkening is to add citrus acid or vinegar to the water solution. Also in order to avoid water spattering and to reduce fat absorption spin dry potatoes as much as possible before frying. In order to get really crispy and tasty fries, fry them twice.

Banana Worm Bread

• ½ cup shortening
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 bananas, mashed
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup chopped nuts
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup dry-roasted mealworms

Mix together all ingredients. Bake in greased loaf pan at 350 deg F for about one hour.

Mealworms can be purchased live, canned or freeze dried from any number of suppliers. Mealworms are relatively easy to keep till you use them in a recipe. Nutritional Information: One mealworm contains: 10.63% protein, 3.1% fiber, 420 ppm calcium, and 10.01% fat. Mealworms if live, should be placed in freezer for about an hour to put them to sleep and then boiled for one minute and then they are ready for inclusion in a recipe.