Grasshoppers and crickets are considered a delicacy in many Latin-American countries. Find out what all the fuss is about.
There are a lot of grasshoppers in my backyard! Everywhere I step, grasshoppers jump in all directions. I have eaten crickets before and today, as I was walking around, I decided to find out if grasshoppers are edible as well.
I discovered that not only are they edible, but, like crickets are considered a delicacy. They are high in protein, and packed full of other nutrients. They are also incredibly prolific throughout North America.
Another resident of my backyard also caught my eye:
This plant, Bidens alba, more commonly known as "Shepherd's Needle", is a common and prolific weed in North Florida and much of North America. As I discovered today, it is also edible!
I'm always excited to discover edible components of my backyard. Especially after recently losing power for a week in the wake of Hurricane Hermine.
I decided to take these two ingredients and make a snack with them, here is how I prepared it.
Preparation
To start with, after catching what I thought would be an adequate amount of grasshoppers (and a couple of crickets), I placed them in the freezer for an hour. This was a sanitary and humane way to kill them.
Upon removing them from the freezer, I cut off the back legs (similar to shrimp legs, there is no nutritional value and they just add crunch).
Once that was done, I rinsed them and put them off to the side.
The flowers and leaves of the Shepherd's Needle are edible, so I removed a few flowers and leaves from one of the many plants in my backyard and rinsed them.
In a small pan, I placed some chopped garlic clove and a dollop of ghee and sauteed the garlic until it was caramel-colored.
At that point, I tossed in the grasshoppers and crickets, added some cracked pepper and dried mojo and sauteed the mixture for another 7-8 minutes at medium heat.
Once the grasshoppers were browned and crispy, I turned off the heat and added the Shepherd's Needle. I stirred the ingredients until the leaves and flowers softened.
To add a finishing touch, I splashed some homemade Carolina Reaper Pepper hot sauce.
I put the final product on a bed of baby kale leaves and got out the fork!
It was delicious. The grasshoppers had a nice crunchy texture and soaked up the flavor of the other ingredients really well. The Shepherd's Needle added a tangy flavor to the salad and the flowers added a neat texture as well.
Next time you're feeling hungry, grab a mason jar, take a walk through the grass and grab yourself some crunchy treats!
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