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Appetizers

Escargots de Bourgogne

The Quirky Foodster Team

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20 minutes
Prep
10 minutes
Cook

Ingredients

  • 24 canned or prepared snails (escargots), with shells
  • 200 g (7/8 cup) Unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 30 g (1/2 cup) Fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 small shallots, finely minced
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp dry white wine

Method

  1. Beat softened butter with garlic, parsley, shallots, salt, pepper and white wine until well combined.
  2. Place a small amount of garlic butter into the base of each snail shell.
  3. Insert one snail into each shell, then seal the opening with more garlic butter.
  4. Arrange shells, opening up, in an escargot dish or on a bed of coarse salt on a tray.
  5. Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 8-10 minutes until the butter is bubbling and fragrant.
  6. Serve immediately with fresh baguette to mop up the butter.

Introduction: Burgundy snails cooked in garlic-parsley butter are one of French cuisine’s most iconic starters, dating to 19th-century Burgundian farmhouse cooking, where snails were an accessible protein transformed by the region’s famous butter and garlic.

Cultural Background: Burgundy snails cooked in garlic-parsley butter are one of French cuisine’s most iconic starters, dating to 19th-century Burgundian farmhouse cooking, where snails were an accessible protein transformed by the region’s famous butter and garlic.

Tips: Coarse rock salt under the shells keeps them stable and stops butter from spilling in the oven.

Variations: Some Provençal versions add a touch of pastis or fennel to the butter for anise notes. Substitute the snails with roasted button mushroom caps for a similar texture and butter-soaked flavour. Use the mushroom substitution above with plant-based butter.

Storage: Assembled, unbaked shells can be refrigerated up to 1 day or frozen up to 1 month.

Reheating: Bake from chilled at 220°C (425°F) for 10-12 minutes, or a few extra minutes from frozen.

FAQs:

Q: Can I use fresh snails instead of canned?

A: Yes, but they require a lengthy purging and pre-cooking process; canned, prepared snails are the practical home-cook option.

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