Delicious Australia – (11)November 2018

(Comicgek) #1
LEF
TOVER

Bananas


FUTURE


PROOF


INSECTS–WOULDYOU
EAT THEM?If your first
responsewas“Ewww,yuk”,
I’m guessing you’re not part
ofthe80percentofhumans
who regularly consume
bugs. A cultural fear of creepy crawlies has
kept them on the periphery of the Western
diet,butatrendtowardsentomophagy,or
insecteating,iscreepingoutofAfrica, Asia
and Central and South America.
In Thailand, they snack on grasshoppers;
in Africa, the residents around Lake
Victoria eat mosquito burgers during the
rainy season when the insects swarm in
the billions. The Amazon’s Piaroa tribe
barbecue huge bird-eating tarantulas.
Here,bogongmothshavelongbeen
animportantsourceofbushtucker.
Thecaseforeatinginsectsgoesbeyond
gaining a brief moment of Instagram glory.
The United Nations reports eating bugs
isthekeytofoodsecurity–gramforgram,
they are one of the cheapest, most efficient
and nutritious food sources available. More
sustainablethan any other source of
protein, their ‘feed conversion ratio’ (how
efficientlytheyconverttheirownfeedto
food for humans) is around 90 per cent,
compared with just 10 per cent for cattle.
Thismeanstheyneedafractionofthe
feed, water and space to produce the same
amount of protein.
Intheworld’slargestcricketfarmin
Thailand, crickets are roasted and ground
into a high-protein flour with no heads or
legs to scare you off. The implications of
thissustainablefoodsourcefordrought-
affectedcountries such as Australia are
overwhelming. Research shows that if
afamilyoffourswitchedanimalproteinfor
cricketproteinonceaweek,overayear,
they’d save 750,000 litres of water. That’s
food for thought.

delicious.com.au/food-files
For more tips on making the
most of ingredients.

SUPERMARKETS CLAIM
thatwe are fixated on fruit’s
appearance, not accepting
skinblemishesevenifthe
quality is unaffected. I’ve
beenguiltyofitinthepast–wewant“the
best”. But as a result, more than 100,000
tonnes of Queensland bananas go to
wasteeveryyear.Thisrecipeforbanana
pain perdu(French toast) helps reduce
waste. The riper and blacker the bananas,
thebettertheresult,andyoucanuse
upabitofoldbreadwhileyou’reatit!
Whiz2peeledbananasinablenderuntil
smooth. Whisk 100g banana puree (save
remainingtoaddtosmoothies),3eggs,
2tbscastersugarand100mlpure
(thin)creaminashallowdishuntilwell
combined.Add6slicesstalebriocheor
otherbreadtobananamixtureandstand,
flipping halfway, for 30 minutes to soak.
Melt20gunsaltedbutterinalargefrypan
over medium heat. In batches, cook bread
for2minuteseachsideoruntilgolden.
Sprinkleeachslicewithextra2tbscaster
sugarandcookforafurther1minuteeach
side to caramelise. Serve with whipped
cream and a splash of whisky if you like.

STORE AND SELECT
Selectbananasthatarenotsplitopen,
bruised or with mouldy stems.
Bananas ripen off the tree, so can
mature over time. Store unripe
bananasatroomtemperatureandripe
in the bottom drawer of the fridge.
GOES WITH
Rum,caramel, coconut, chocolate,
vanilla, cinnamon, honey, bacon.

Search delicious.com.au for ‘butterscotch
sauce with burnt-butter bananas’

This month,Shannon Harley
poses question that might
be ard to stomach.

ILLUSTRATION


ALICE CLEARY


INSIDER.


@alannasapwell @misspamplemousse

Follow Alanna Follow Shannon
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