Bolognese is the most comforting sauce on the planet. This one just has a better story — cricket flour deepens the sauce, and a few whole roasted crickets on top give it a crunch spaghetti never saw coming.

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 400 g tagliatelle or spaghetti
  • 400 g minced beef (or a plant-based mince)
  • 2 tbsp finely ground GRIG crunchy crickets (a small blender does it in seconds) + a handful of whole ones for topping
  • 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 2 cans chopped tomatoes, 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • Splash of red wine (optional), olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, fresh basil

Method

  1. Sweat the onion, garlic and carrot in olive oil until soft. Add the mince and brown it properly — colour is flavour.
  2. Stir in the tomato purée, then the chopped tomatoes and wine. Simmer low for at least 30 minutes.
  3. Stir the ground crickets into the sauce for the last 10 minutes. They melt into the background and make the sauce rounder and deeper.
  4. Cook the pasta, toss with the sauce.
  5. Top each plate with basil and a few whole roasted crickets. Yes, on top. Visible. That is the point.

The moment: serve it without comment and count how long it takes anyone to mention the topping.