ANYONE FOR CRICKET? Insects are winging their way back to the Wahaca menu for the summer
They’re packed with protein, surprisingly tasty and possibly one of the most sustainable ingredients on the planet – so the team at Wahaca has decided that it’s high time to reintroduce some insect options to its menu of delicious, vibrant Mexican street food. The new specials, which see crickets winging their way back to Wahaca for the summer months, compliment the restaurant group’s new menu – launched to coincide with the full reopening of indoor hospitality.
Wahaca’s new Cricket salsa is a richly flavoured and beautifully spiced pipian, a term to describe any class of mole made with a base of pumpkin seeds. Ground crickets are combined with the pumpkin seeds and an authentically Mexican blend of guajillo, arbol and jalapeno chillies to create a salsa that’s spicy-hot but with so many other flavours going on that it’s hard not to go back for more. For a limited time, visitors to Wahaca can try a taster of the cricket salsa on the house, served with a portion of tortilla chips to scoop up the sustainable deliciousness!
Asparagus season is upon us and this month sees the spring vegetable appear on Wahaca’s menu for the first time in a dish that’s packed with seasonal goodness. The new Chargrilled asparagus tacos (£6.25) combine tender and slightly caramelised stems finished with a sprinkling of toasted pumpkin seeds and the new cricket salsa. Veggie diners (or anyone not up for the insect option) can choose to have their tacos topped with a citrusy habanero mayo instead. True to Wahaca’s sustainable principles, the dish will only remain on the menu for the six week asparagus season, so get this one while it’s fresh.
Raise a glass to restaurant reopenings with a new cocktail that’s perfect for celebrations either indoors or al fresco. The new Summer Spritz (£8.25) is a refreshing mix of Aperol, prosecco and grapefruit with an unmistakably Mexican splash of 100% pure agave tequila, and is available now alongside the new specials.
Wahaca’s co-founder Thomasina Miers said: “Crickets are a brilliantly sustainable way to add protein to our diets and are eaten in Mexico as bar snacks, on guacamole, in salsas and even coated in chocolate. We’ve experimented with them in the past at Wahaca, so we’re delighted to have them back on our menu for the summer, this time in a thoroughly delicious pipian, or pumpkin seed salsa, full of spices and aromatics. We hope that our guests will be up for trying them if they haven’t had the pleasure before!”