Even if you cant decide whether or not to bee or not to bee, the decision to make this beautiful salad should be simple. From the archives of the Bug Chef, give this bee recipe a try. This bee recipe is also featured in David George Gordon’s Eat a Bug Cookbook. For more edible insect recipe books, stay tuned for our edible insect cook book review.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup frozen adult bees about 40
- 1/2 cup frozen bee pupae about 60
- 1/2 cup frozen bee larvae about 60
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 ounce bee pollen granules
- Lettuce for serving
- Nasturtium petals or other edible flowers for serving
Servings: servings
Units:
Instructions
- Bring two quarts of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the adult honeybees and return to boil for 1 minute.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the bees from the water. Pat dry with paper towels and allow to cool.
- To the same water, add the honeybee pupae. Repeat the procedure for cooking the adult bees (but watch how you pat these little guys with the paper towels!), also allowing the pupae to cool.
- Repeat the same process with the honeybee larvae.
- In a large bowl, combine the vinegar, oil, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the cooked adult bees, followed by the pupae, then the larvae.
- Immediately before serving, add the bee pollen granules, stirring the mixture to ensure that the granules are evenly distributed.
- Serve on a bed of lettuce, decorated with the nasturtium petals, a bee-utiful touch for this bee-atific dish.
Are the stingers not an issue? Is this dangerous to people allergic to bee stings?
Great question Robert. If you’re allergic to bees, I would proceed with caution. From what I understand, cooking can denature venom and I have heard no instance of an allergy to insect stings equating to an allergy to insect eating. Furthermore, ingesting bee venom inside a bee in your 3 bee salad is a very different route than mainlining venom via angry insect injection. Stomach acid is some pretty potent stuff.
Bottom Line = Its probably okay to eat insects if you’re allergic to stings, but make sure they’re cooked, you start small (1-2 insects at at time), and have the epi pen handy.
Stingers could be bothersome, rubbing the insects in your hands following roasting may help remove harder external parts. Saute / boiling should work well to soften.
i love eating bees! thanks 🙂