Mealworm Spaghetti
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. roasted yellow mealworms
4 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 sprig marjoram
1 sprig thyme
2 bay leaves
1/4 onion, chopped
8 oz. dry spaghetti **
6-8 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
Olive oil
3-4 tablespoons pine nuts, finely chopped
10 sprigs parsley, finely chopped
1/2 lb. purple basil, finely chopped
1/2 lb. ricotta cheese
1/4 cup whole pine nuts
Directions:
Boil water, add sunflower oil, salt, marjoram, thyme, bay leaves, and onion. Add spaghetti. Drain when done. Melt butter in saute pan. Add spaghetti. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix basil, parsley, ricotta, oil, and chopped pine nuts with the spaghetti. Heat, but do not boil. Top with mealworms and whole pine nuts.
** alternatively, make your own pasta and substitute 1/4 grain flour with insect flour. To prepare larva and crickets prior to turning them into flour:
put crickets, superworms, and/or mealworms in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer until they are dead but not completely frozen. Fifteen minutes or so should be sufficient. Then take them out and rinse them under warm water. Cricket's heads, hind legs, and wing cases can be removed according to personal preference.
Spread your cleaned insects out on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Heat over to 175-200 degrees F and dry insects for approximately 1-3 hours, until they are brittle and crush easily. Put them into a coffee bean or spice grinder, and grind them till they are about consistency of wheat germ. Use in practically any recipe!