Camera model Olympus SP-320
Date/time 26.08.2006/11:38:27
Exposure time 1/500 s
F-number f/4.5
ISO 64
Focal length 8 mm
Cica-Delicious Pizza*
Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, pressed
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp. chopped fresh italian parsley
4 cups chopped tomatoes, including juice and seeds
1 1/2 cup coarsely chopped shi-ttake mushrooms
3/4 cup coarsely chopped red onion
3/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped
1 1/2 cups blanched cicadas
1 cup feta cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 recipe of your favorite pizza dough (for a 12” pizza)
Directions:
1. Heat oil in sauté pan over medium low heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 minutes, or until just beginning to turn golden.
2. Add the herbs and cook for another minute, until wilted.
3. Add the tomatoes and juice, turn the heat to low, and gently cook, covered, for 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and the liquid had been absorbed and the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the dough by rolling it out to desired thickness and shaping it into a 12” circle. Using a shallow wooden spoon, spread the tomato sauce over the pizza dough to the desired thickness.
5. Distribute the rest of the ingredients evenly over the top of the pizza.
6. Place pizza in a 375F oven for 15 minutes, or until the top is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.
Yield:
Enough for 2-3 hungry cicada-maniacs
*change any of the ingredients to suit your personal taste
Chocolate Covered Cicadas
Ingredients:
8 squares of good-quality dark, white, or milk chocolate
30 dry roasted cicadas
Directions:
1. Roast teneral cicadas for 15 minutes at 225F.
2. Meanwhile, melt chocolate in a double-boiler over low heat. Dip insects in chocolate, place on wax paper and refrigerate until hardened.
Yield:
30 cicadas
Cooking “with” cicadas
A staple food in the past for Australian Aborigines, New Guineans, Siamese people, and American Indians, cicadas were considered a special delicacy in ancient Greece and Rome, as well as modern-day Japan. They contain a high protein content, and since cicadas eat only vegetable matter, they are a pure and wholesome food source. Additionally, they are said to be tasty, having a delicate nutty flavor.
Who to cook: newly hatched cicadas, called tenerals, are considered best for eating because their shells have not hardened. It is best to collect these in the very early hours of the morning, just after they have emerged, but before they have time to climb up out of reach. The best way to do this is to simply go outside with a brown paper bag and starting scooping them in.
They should be blanched (boiled for 4-5 mintues) soon after collection and before you eat them! Not only will this make their insides solidify a bit, but it will get rid of any soil bacteria that is living on or in them. You can then cook with them immediately, or freeze them. Keep in mind that freezing them will work best for those that you are going to roast, as the consistency of the cicada may change and make them inappropriate for dishes which call for fresh cicadas. If you are unable to get any tenerals, then mature females are the next best thing. Adult males have very hollow abdomens and will not be much of a mouthful, but the females are filled with fat. Just be sure to remove all the hard parts, such as wings and legs before you use the adults. These parts will not harm you, but they are also not very tasty.
When the recipe calls for dry-roasted cicadas: place cicadas on cookie sheet and roast for 10 to 15 minutes at 225F. Cooking time will vary depending upon size and water levels. Check your cicadas when you remove them from the oven. They should be a soft dry consistency, a bit like a nut. If they are still moist inside, they should be roasted for longer. When dry grind coarsely and use as nut substitute in bread or on ice cream. A finer grind can be mixed 50:50 with flour to make a high-protein dough.
Do we have to wait seven years to try your recipes? They always say bugs have a "Nutty Flavor"...sorta like saying "tastes like Chicken" for everything else