Over the weekend we’ve been sampling some unusual snacks kindly sent to us from Jimini’s, including their range of flavoured bug boxes and cricket flour protein bars, see below.
Here’s the thing, you might find eating insects slightly unusual or even completely disgusting, but to many cultures it is very normal and according to Wikipedia in 2005 there were some 2 billion insect consumers world-wide. In parts of Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania eating insects is part of everyday life.
With the huge rise in the consumption of meat, the world simply does not have the resources to deal expected future demand and something needs to change. According to ecologist Brian Machovina, the livestock sector is responsible for approximately 15 percent of all human greenhouse gas emissions, about equivalent to all the direct emissions from transportation. This factor alone is enough for us to consider lowering our meat consumption, one way to do that is find alternatives to so called ‘normal’ food sources.
Once you actually get over the initial psychological difference of eating Insects, they’re really no different than eating any other animal. This recipe adds a box Jimini’s Imperial Soy Mealworms to a classic Risotto to create a dish to liven any social gathering.
INGREDIENTS:
75cl Stockcube
1 Onion
2cl Olive oil
250g Risotto rice
12cl White sec wine
Salt, pepper, fleur de sel
150g Button mushroom
150g Oyster mushroom
1 Shallot
30g Mealworms (1 box of Jimini’s Imperial Soy or Garlic and Herbs )
1/2 Flat-leaved parsley
40g Grated Parmesan cheese
20g Butter
METHOD:
Heat up the stock cube. Peel and dice the onion.
In a casserole dish, sweat the onion with half of the olive oil portion and a pinch of salt. Incorporate the rice until giving lustre (it has to be translucent) then de-glaze with the white wine portion. Let it boil down.
Then add one ladle of the stock cube liquid. Once it’s reduced, add the ladles one at a time until the end of the preparation (between 17 to 20 minutes).
Clean the mushrooms and slice it in small parts. Peel and dice the shallot. Pick the leaves off and slice thinly the parsley.
In a casserole dish, brown the mushrooms in olive oil then incorporate the shallots, salt and cook during 1 minute.
Finally, add the Mealworms and the parsley. Salt and pepper. Put everything in the risotto cooked with butter and parmesan cheese.
CHEF’S HINT:
To cook a risotto, forecast between 15 to 20 minutes and 2.5 times more liquid than the weight of the rice. For more info follow Jiminis on Twitter >