CLEVELAND, Ohio -- If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em.



The 17-year cicadas have started to emerge from their underground homes and, soon, Northeast Ohio will be crawling with literally billions of these bugs.



While snacking on a cicada may not be your idea of a delicious treat, they're high in protein, low-fat, low-carb, gluten-free and, over the course of the next several weeks, will be plentiful and fairly easy to forage. The clock is ticking, though.



Jenna Jadin, an entomologist who wrote "Cicada-Licious," the definitive cicada cookbook in 2004, says the bugs are best to eat shortly after they've hatched, before their exoskeletons have hardened. Early morning is the ideal time to catch them. Cicadas with hardened shells should be boiled before eating. Never forage cicadas that are already dead.



So, how do they taste? Bon Appetit says cicadas are similar to soft-shell crab, "but with subtle overtones of boiled peanuts, the kind only a backroads gas station can really do right."



Holy yum, right!!?



So, if you've got a cicada problem in your yard, always wanted to be that guy on "Bizarre Foods" and not allergic to shellfish, here are some cicada recipes to try.



Chocolate Covered Cicadas



Source: "CICADA-LICIOUS: Cooking and Enjoying Periodical Cicadas"



Ingredients:

8 squares of good-quality dark, white, or milk chocolate

30 dry roasted cicadas



Directions:

1. Roast teneral cicadas for 15 minutes at 225F.

2. Melt chocolate in a double-boiler over low heat. Dip insects in chocolate, place on wax paper and refrigerate until hardened.



Crispy wok tossed cicadas



Source: AndrewZimmern.com



Ingredients:



2 cups cicadas

2 tablespoons peanut oil

2 tablespoons minced ginger

1 hot dried Asian chile

4 tablespoons minced lemongrass

1 cup chopped scallions

1 clove minced garlic

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons Toban Djan (fermented bean paste with chiles)

1 cup minced celery

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon corn starch

3 tablespoons rice wine (or sake)



1. Collect roughly 2 cups of cicadas, keep them in a bucket (with a lid) with an inch of water inside. Wet wings means they won't fly off! Dry on a towel, pluck wings and legs, and set aside.



2. Preheat a large wok over high heat. Add the peanut oil, and swirl.



3. Add the minced ginger, hot dried Asian chile (tsin-tsin work great), minced lemongrass, chopped scallions, minced garlic, sugar, Toban Djan (fermented bean paste with chiles, Lee Kum Kee brand is fine) and toss for 15 seconds. Add the cicadas. If you can't find fermented bean paste, use a few tablepoons of Chinese dried salted black beans instead.



4. Toss for one minute to cook. Add the minced celery, toss. Mix the soy sauce, corn starch and rice wine together in a separate bowl, then add the mixture to the wok. Toss, cooking for another minute or so until sauce tightens.



Cica-Delicious Pizza



Source: "CICADA-LICIOUS: Cooking and Enjoying Periodical Cicadas"



Serves: 2-3



Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic, pressed

3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano

2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

2 tbsp. chopped fresh italian parsley

4 cups chopped tomatoes, including juice and seeds

1 1/2 cup coarsely chopped shittake mushrooms

3/4 cup coarsely chopped red onion

3/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped

1 1/2 cups blanched cicadas

1 cup feta cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1 recipe of your favorite pizza dough (for a 12" pizza)



Directions:



1. Heat oil in saute pan over medium low heat. Add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes, or until just beginning to turn golden.



2. Add the herbs and cook for another minute, until wilted.



3. Add the tomatoes and juice, turn the heat to low, and gently cook, covered, for 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and the liquid had been absorbed and the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat.



4. Meanwhile, prepare the dough by rolling it out to desired thickness and shaping it into a 12" circle. Using a shallow wooden spoon, spread the tomato sauce over the pizza dough to the desired thickness.



5. Distribute the rest of the ingredients evenly over the top of the pizza.



6. Place pizza in a 375F oven for 15 minutes, or until the top is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.

Emergence Cookies



Ingredients:



1/2 cup shortening

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 beaten egg white

1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional)

about 60 parboiled dry roasted cicadas (roast for only 8 minutes so that they retain some moisture)



Directions:

1. In a large bowl, beat shortening with eggs, the 11/2 cups sugar, cooled chocolate, baking powder, and vanilla until well combined, scraping sides of bowl.



2. Gradually stir in flour till thoroughly combined. Stir in the nuts. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours or until dough is easy to handle.



3. Meanwhile, stir together the 1/3 cup sugar and beaten egg white. Place cicadas on waxed paper; brush with egg white mixture and set aside.



4. Shape dough into 1inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Place a cicada on top of each ball, pressing lightly.



5. Bake in a 375 oven for 8-10 minutes or till edges are set. Transfer to a rack to cool.



