Steve Manfredi

Grilled long - tailed bugs with cannellini beans - olive oil, tomato and saffron rice

Serves 4 as a main course

The sauce

Ingredients

2 Kg ripe Roma tomatoes peeled and mashed in a blender
Half a cup of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of saffron

Method

Sieve the mashed tomatoes then place them in a pot along with the saffron.

Heat the puree until it is almost at the boil (do not boil). T

ake it from the heat and whisk in the olive oil a little at a time until it is well incorporated.

Season and allow to cool before using.

Ingredients

20 long-tailed bugs or Moreton Bay bugs
1 cup dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight
Olive oil
tablespoons pesto

Method

Cook the beans in some salted water until they are ‘al dente’.

Drain them and keep them aside.

Take the bug tails out of their shells carefully using some sharp kitchen shears.

Rub some olive oil over each tail and grill them making sure they don’t dry out or go crusty.

They should be golden and moist. Heat the sauce and ladle a little into each plate.

Spoon some beans in, pile four or five bugs in the middle and finish each dish with a spoon of pesto.