Bonne fête from Vermillion! There's been a lot of changes here at No Free Lunch, and I've really fallen behind. I have some more posts in the pipeline where I'll talk a little more about that. For now, let's celebrate our sixth Bastille Day with escargots! Escargots have been a family tradition since I was very young, and we often have them for Christmas dinner. I've seen and heard of many different preparations for escargots, but the simple classic can't be beat. The most iconic preparation involves baking the snails inside shells, but lacking those, ramekins work well. Make sure to have lots of bread ready to absorb the delicious compound butter.
The butter is closely based on Jacques Pépin's recipe from Essential Pépin, including fresh parsley and chives from our garden. It ended up being a little too salty, so adjust to taste. The bread pictured is the baguette made daily at Vermillion's own Mister Smith's. Grandpa's French bread would be a great option, as well.
We rounded out our dinner with pan roasted chicken thighs with mustard sauce (recipe forthcoming at some point!) and sautéed crookneck squash from this week's farm share.
Ingredients
- 20 escargots (1 small can)
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 sprig fresh parsley
- Breadcrumbs
- Bread, for serving
Compound Butter
- 1 stick butter (4 oz.)
- 2 Tbs fresh parsley, minced
- 1 Tbs fresh chives, minced
- 2 tsp garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 1/2 Tbs white wine
- A few grinds black pepper
Instructions
Drain the snails and inspect for any feed still inside them. If present, rinse it out. Bring the wine and stock to a boil in a saucepan or sauté pan. Add the parsley sprig and the snails. Lower the heat and poach for about 5 minutes. Remove the snails and store in the fridge until ready.
Combine the butter with the rest of the butter ingredients. This will work best if the butter has been left out to soften. Fold everything together. Both the snails and butter can be kept until ready to serve.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Divide the snails and butter into equal portions and place in ramekins. I used four, with five snails in each. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top. Place the ramekins on a sheet pan and bake for 12 minutes.
Serve with baguette slices.
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ReplyDeleteThe snail shells you became familiar with have been around since the middle 1970s. Many rounds of snails have inhabited those same shells over the years. In the 1970s, it was not uncommon for families interested in French food to own a set of snail shells. Afterall, it was the decade that many of us watched Julia Child on TV. Despite not using shells, you preparation is completely classic, using “snail butter” and baking them at high temperature with a little bread crumbs on them. Having baguette around for this dish is essential. Many other snail preparations are enjoyable but the classic is hard to beat.
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