Chapulines

Toasted on a dry comal with no fat at all, and tossed in lime only once they are off the heat.

Not vegetarian — contains grasshoppers.

Ingredients

• 300 g grasshoppers, cleaned, legs and wings removed
• juice of 3 limes
• 2 teaspoons ground chile piquin
• 2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons salt
• corn tortillas, as on their own page, to serve
• guacamole, as on its own page, to serve

Method

1. THEY ARE TOASTED ON A DRY COMAL WITH NO FAT AT ALL, AND TOSSED IN LIME ONLY ONCE THEY ARE OFF THE HEAT. Both halves of that are the dish. A grasshopper is a thin shell around very little flesh, and what is wanted is brittle -- they should crackle between the teeth. On a dry pan the last of their moisture drives off and the shell goes glassy and snaps. In any fat at all they fry rather than dry: the shell softens and goes chewy, and they end up greasy. And the lime goes on after the pan, because lime juice on a hot dry comal steams instantly and softens exactly what the toasting has just crisped.
2. THEY MUST BE BONE DRY BEFORE THEY GO ON. Spread on a cloth and patted, or left out twenty minutes. Any surface water and the first minute of toasting is spent boiling it off while the shells sit there softening.
3. THE LEGS AND WINGS COME OFF FIRST. The back legs are barbed and catch in the throat, and the wings are papery and taste of nothing. Pinched off between finger and thumb, which is tedious and is the actual work of the dish.
4. THE PAN IS SHAKEN CONSTANTLY AND THEY ARE WATCHED. Four or five minutes over a medium heat, moving the whole time. They go from dull to glossy to visibly darker, and then they burn -- and burnt insect is acrid in a way that nothing covers. The smell changes before the colour does.
5. THE GARLIC GOES IN OFF THE HEAT TOO. Raw, very finely chopped, tossed through with the lime and chilli. On the comal it would burn long before the chapulines were ready.
6. The grasshoppers gone through one at a time and the BACK LEGS AND WINGS pinched off and discarded.
7. Spread on a cloth and patted BONE DRY. Left 20 minutes if there is any damp at all.
8. A comal or heavy frying pan set over a MEDIUM heat, COMPLETELY DRY. No oil.
9. The chapulines tipped in and the pan SHAKEN constantly.
10. Toasted 4 to 5 MINUTES, until they have darkened a shade and smell toasted and nutty.
11. TESTED: one should SNAP between the teeth. If it bends, another minute.
12. THE PAN TAKEN OFF THE HEAT and tipped into a bowl.
13. The lime juice, ground chilli, raw garlic and salt added and tossed through at once while still hot.
14. Left 2 minutes for the lime to be taken up.
15. Served in tortillas with guacamole, or by the handful. They soften within an hour, so they are made to be eaten.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Mexico · All recipes