A New York woman is sharing her prized cicada pizza recipe...sweet! The Daily News misleadingly reports that the cicadas are returning from their underground hibernation for the first time in 17 years this summer, and go on to say “You only get to eat cicadas every 17 years” but have no fear, they are wrong!  While this particular group of cicadas has indeed been in hibernation for seventeen years, there is always some variety, if not multiple varieties of cicadas around each and every summer.  So what does that mean for us? It means a possibility of a unique strain of cicadas every summer for the next decade or so…! Oh the pizzas we will eat!

Caroline Fincke of New York searched the web for recipes once somebody told her the shrill creatures were edible. She quickly learned that cicadas can be substituted for shrimp in just about any recipe. Fincke uses a store-bought crust as her base, and then adds olive oil, sea salt, pepper and ricotta cheese. She steams ramps (wild leeks) and nettle for the dish. She then fries the cicadas in butter with garlic, salt and red pepper and bakes the pizza for 8 to 10 minutes.

Apparently foodies have embraced the bugs, claiming they have a mild and nutty taste. I think I’ll pass until and unless I have a rational need to eat them.