The most famous snail dishes: overview and features

Grape snails - habitual inhabitants of vegetable gardens and gardens. Snails of the species Helix aspersa maxima and Helix aspersa müller are a little less common, but still they cannot be called rare. Most often these snails can be found in the southern regions of Europe. In the summer after the rain, they appear in great numbers on sidewalks, lawns and under trees. In France, Spain, Greece and Italy snails are eaten, and the dishes are considered a real delicacy, and they are served in the best restaurants.

Preliminary preparation of snails

Clams in frozen or canned form are sold in stores. And in the summer it will not be difficult to collect snails with their own hands. Artisans have even learned to grow snails on special farms. In short, the product is quite accessible both on sale and in nature. In the latter case, the difficulty lies in the preliminary preparation:

1. First, the mollusks are thoroughly washed from sand and dirt.
2. Then they are placed in a bucket or in a pot under a lid.
3. The container is not closed tightly, and leave a small gap.

Ducklings should be poured some flour and bran to clean the contents of their stomachs. After three days, the shells are thoroughly washed again, poured with water to select the dead individuals. Then the method of preparation depends on the recipe.

Escargot

This is the most popular method of cooking. The second name is French-style snails. Very tasty and tender shellfish are obtained in combination with butter. For 1 kg of snails in the shells you need 300 g of butter, garlic (medium head), lemon to juice, parsley, salt and pepper.

1. Blanch the snails for a short time (about two minutes), take them out of the shells and peel them.
2. Salt and fry or lightly boil together with onion and spicy herbs.
3. Add lemon juice, salt, pepper and chopped parsley.
4. In the empty dry shells put the meat and pour the oil.

In this form, the dainty is allowed to freeze for later cooking at any time. Also, if desired, do without shells, and use a baking dish instead. They are cooked in the oven for only 10 minutes, sprinkled with grated cheese and served hot. The delicacy is easy to take out of the shells with a toothpick, if there is no fork of a special shape. To complete the dish you should choose a dry wine.

Malthusian style snails

You need half a kilo of clams, which are blanched in advance. The secret of taste is that the spicy herbs are used fresh, not dried, and they are mint, basil and marjoram. The recipe is not without dry red wine.

1. Snails are fried in olive oil right in their shells.
2. Then they are poured with red wine, salted, peppered and stewed over low heat for 10 minutes.
3. When almost ready, we add chopped herbs.

Cretan snails

For 500 gr. snails (blanched beforehand) add 100 ml. of olive oil (olive oil is preferable), two tablespoons of wine vinegar and one tablespoon of rosemary, plus salt.

1. Pour a small layer of salt on a heated frying pan, where the snails are placed upside down shell.
2. After drying, oil is poured, stirred and the shells are cooked for 3 to 5 minutes. The fire should be low.
3. Then add rosemary and vinegar, stir it and take it off the fire. Eat the treat with a toothpick, and remove the dark tip.

Sicilian recipe

The express method is good because the snails are cooked very quickly, which is why the recipe is also called picchi pacchi. Shellfish, onions, tomatoes, black and hot chili peppers, and parsley and basil greens are fried in olive oil. The dish is eaten both hot and cold.