Today , we are going to cook croquignoles of snails.

Find this recipe by Rosa and Alain from the programme Julie's Frenchy Cookbook - The Auxerre country

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Ingredients for 10 people:

  • 20 dozen fresh snails
  • 1.5 kg Charlotte or new potatoes
  • 2 onions
  • 30g butter
  • 8 cl dry white Burgundy wine
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • 1 small sprig of rosemary
  • 4 sage leaves
  • 150g flour
  • 2 onions

For the stuffing:

  • 1 kg of butter
  • 100g parsley
  • 15 garlic cloves
  • 1 large shallot
  • 8 roasted hazelnuts
  • 100g stale country bread
  • 1 dash of Cognac
  • 1 dash of anisette
  • 22 g salt
  • 7 g pepper
  • Optional: 1 kg of chanterelles

Preparation:

  • Allow the snails to fast for 15 days and drain them in cold water. Plunge them into a pan of cold water, leave to cook for 5 minutes, drain, remove the shells and the non-compressible membrane. Cook them in a short, well-flavoured stock (without white wine, as it slows down the cooking) and drain again. Carefully wash the shells, separate the gut from the flesh and discard the gut.
  • Peel and chop the onions and melt them gently in a casserole dish with the butter without browning. Peel and slice the potatoes into rounds about 0.5 cm thick. Add them to the pan, season with salt and pepper, stir, cover and cook for about 3/4 of the time (20 minutes).
  • In the meantime, clean the chanterelles and cook them for 5 minutes over a high heat with a little salt in a casserole dish, covered, to precook them. Drain them.

Preparation of the stuffing:

  • It is also time to prepare the filling: soak the bread in milk. Let the butter come to room temperature. In a food processor, chop together parsley, garlic, shallots and hazelnuts. Add salt and pepper. Chop very finely. Add this mixture to the butter, add the spirits and mix well.
  • Put a bit of stuffing in a shell (with your finger, like Rosa), push a snail in and cover with another small piece of stuffing. Finish until you run out of ingredients. If you are using chanterelles, clean them, cut off the larger ones and throw them into a pan half filled with boiling salted water. As soon as the water starts boiling again, drain them.
  • Preheat the oven to 170°. Remove 2/3 of the potatoes from the casserole. Spread 1/3 of the chanterelles over the remaining potatoes, then 1/4 of the snails, opening upwards. Repeat in layers and finish with a layer of snails. Add the herbs, sprinkle with wine and season with pepper.
  • Make the dough by mixing the flour with a little water. It should be soft but not sticky. Place the dough on the edge of the lid. Close the casserole and seal the edges with the dough. Place in the oven and cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Serve immediately. This dish does not stand waiting or being reheated.

Julie's advice:

Store the flavoured butter in a cool place for at least 30 minutes before stuffing the snails, it will be easier to handle. Also, at a meeting, Julie learned that fresh Burgundy snails cannot be harvested and are therefore only sold from July to September. Don't be fooled!

Try and enjoy this recipe for croquignoles of snails.