Snails sommeroise (escargots a la sommeroise)

8 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
100 eaches Snails
1 x Vinegar
2 eaches Thyme sprigs
½ each Bay leaf
1 each Basil sprig
1 each Pared orange peel
7 ounces Pork rind
½ cup Olive oil
½ pounds Fatty bacon
6 eaches Shelled walnuts, ground
4 eaches Canned anchovy fillets
3 eaches Garlic cloves
1 x Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons Flour
6½ pounds Whole trimmed spinach leaves

Directions

Preparation time 3 hours. Cooking time 2½ hours. Starve the snails for at least 8 days, then wash them in several changes of water until clean. Rinse with vinegar, then drain. Place the snails in a saucepan of boiling water with the thyme, bay leaf, basil, orange peel and pork rind. When the snails are almost cooked, drain them and remove them from their shells. [I guess boiling them makes it easier to remove them from their shells. --mkm] Brown the snails in olive oil with the fatty bacon, very finely chopped [I assume the author means chop the bacon first. --mkm], the ground walnuts, anchovy fillets, crushed garlic and salt and pepper. Thicken the mixture with the flour, then serve on a bed of spinach. [Make sure you wash all the grit off the spinach first. --mkm] Rose, red or white wines: Tavel, Chusclan, Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence. [From "Larousse Traditional French Cooking."]

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