Oct 29
Meat & poultry | Others | Tapas bar | Traditional Spanish Recipes
Snails with Bacon and Mushrooms. A Fall’s tapa!
Can you imagine these special fall flavours all combined in a Tapa? Mmmmm, Snails are absolutely delicious cooked this way. Eating snails also has a special Bonus… you can eat them with your fingers! It’s one of those special foods where using the fingers doesn’t mean bad manners. Although, Julia Roberts’ character at Pretty Woman had a little problem with a snail (escargot)… remember that scene?
Hunting Snails and mushrooms is an extended activity here in Catalonia. When Fall starts showing its nose, hundreds of Mushrooms hunters head to the woods and try to fill their baskets with as many mushrooms as they can. We are lucky enough to have many many different kinds of mushrooms; if you are curious, here you can see the ones we have in Catalonia. (sorry, only in Catalan, but with pictures for every kind).
One of my favourite mushrooms is Cep (Boletus Edulis) a supertasty and flavourful one. If you have the chance, try it. You can find them at the markets now, but also frozen, dehydrated and in cans. My recommendation is that if you find it fresh… go ahead and buy it!
Get a good loaf of bread ready and eat warm/hot!
If you are a snail addict like me, then click at the snails picture at the right column. Buen provecho :D
If you are a snail addict like me, then click at the snails picture at the right column. Buen provecho :D
Recipe
Ingredients for the Tapa: 250 grs of snails, 50 grs of Boletus Edulis, 80 grs. of fresh panceta, 1 big onion, 3 garlic cloves, 2 branches of fresh thyme, salt, olive oil and black ground pepper.
- First clean, wash and boil the snails as said in this post.
- Now, cover the surface of a pan with olive oil, when hot, add the panceta in dices. When golden, add the boiled snails (only the snails, not the water you used) and stir for 8 minutes at medium heat. Sprinkle with salt and black ground pepper.
- Take the snails and panceta out of the pan and reserve in a plate.
- In the same oil, cook the onion (chopped) until it gets transparent. Add a branch of thyme. Stir and pull it out after 3 minutes.
- Add the Boletus cut in dices to the pan with the onion. Stir for 3 more minutes at medium heat.
- Pour the snails and panceta back to the pan and cook for 20 minutes aprox at medium/low heat. Stir now and then.
- Mince the garlic, add to the snails and turn the heat off when fragant.
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Comments
When in Catalonia do as the Spanish do:D I suppose you would have to pass the bread my dear…
Forest on your plate, is the perfect title for this dish! It looks really yummy!
Jaarrll, he de admitir que las fotos son preciosas y la combinación suena bien… pero es que… no he sido capaz de probar los caracoles en mi vida… ejem.
When I think of snails I think of my grandma as she was the only one in the family who made them. It has been years since I ate any … she always made them with a tomato broth and served them with rice. They were delicious. I love this version with mushrooms and will have to find the willpower to tackle these little critters myself some day.
Jenn said it before me…love ‘a forest in your plate’. Looks like a great dish and one I would definitely order if I was dining at Casa Nuria!
What a pretty plate of deliciousness – ‘forest in your plate’ is perfect!
I have to give snails another try I think. The first time I had them I was very young and did not appreciate their chewy texture. My mother loves them loads and she used to make them with tomato sauce, but not anymore. There are many recipes for snails especially from Crete, perhaps it would be interesting for you to seek them out.
Núria, fantàstics aquests cargols!! No n’he menjat mai amb bolets! Però m’encanten!
Ja estic fent salivera per quan vingui per Nadal i la meva mare en prepari una platada. ;)
Petons!
que super interesante, mija. ongo con snails. nunca me lo hubiera imaginado! happy fall!
Oh Nuria, they look divine. I collected snails again this year and perhaps I’ll make this dish as an ode to you!
yo como tu, adicta a los caracoles, aunque solo los como aqui en londres en los restaurantes franceses, o cuando bajo a barna, es una pena, es un manjar de dioses, tu receta es ideal, me enanta como combinas estos sabores, habra que probarlos! besitos
Ooh, very earthy! Love it, and your photos too.
LL
When can I come over for dinner?
Hello Nuria
this is france speaking here so snails yeahhh we love them !!!
thanks for the sharing !!
and if you want a different hummus come and see mine cheers from rainy paris !
à bientôt Pierre
i’ve read about the mushroom hunting in catalonia and jonny and i have always wanted to visit during this time. i also am a HUGE mushroom fan and could eat them with almost every meal. they are singlehandedly one of the only (and i mean ONLY) reasons i would ever even consider going vegetarian. i love them. i also love snails and this tapa. unfortunately, jonny had a major allergic reaction after eating escargot for a valentines dinner four years ago and i sadly haven’t had them since. but forget him, i’m going for it soon. these really look great.
Forrest on your plate is a great name for this dish. Thank you Thank you for the post!
Cabbage Soup Diet
We don’t eat snails in Turkey. I hear many times that it’s eaten in some places, but didn’t read a recipe or see a picture of it. It looks like our stuffed mussels, which is eaten by fingers. Looks so appealing with your gorgeous picture.