SNAIL IN TOMATOES SAUCE AT CHATEAU LAGARETTE

SNAIL IN TOMATOES SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

·         Tomatoes

·         Snails

·         Tomato paste

SNAIL IN TOMATOES SAUCE AT CHATEAU LAGARETTE

 I am back to Chateau Lagarette…. You remember the Bio-wine people? Yeah! But am not here to harvest grapes but to Mange… in French that means “to eat”.

Olamp had promised me a hearty meal of escargots (snails) which she picked from the vineyard and a traditional desert recipe called Madam Gestan’s Gateau.

Olamp’s kitchen looks like the kitchen I want to own (Dear husband, please take note). The Glass roof and those drapes!... I wanna cook there all day. The wooden effect makes me want to befriend a carpenter.

First we started by making the desert and Olamp told me the history of the recipe (the French has got stories attached to almost all their recipes). This one is from a particular region and the peasants use this cake recipe during winter. We mixed all that should be mixed then popped it into the oven.

So while the cake get to enjoy some heat, we are set to enjoy the escargot Olamp prepared. When she told me she took close to 4 days preparing it, I honestly did not understand until she opened this pot of tomatoes sauce filled with snails in their shells.

SNAILS IN THEIR SHELLS?!!! In Nigeria, snails are a great delicacy especially from the region where I come from, we eat them boiled, fried, roasted etc but never eaten from the shells. We smash that shell out completely. Now this was a huge surprise and quite insightful.

Then came the lectures and the reason for the close to 4 days preparation. Pick the snails, starve them, place them in a bucket of flour and vinegar, allow them eat and excrete flour and when it’s all white, Wash, wash, wash, and wash till water is completely clear. Then make this tomatoes sauce with bacon and a lot of great spices, then pour in your snails, allow to cook then it’s ready to serve.

So I met the “ready to serve” part, Olamp thought me how to eat the snails from the shell with a toothpick, then I got down to business. I left a good number of empty snail shells and soaked up the juice with bread. We had the Bio-wine alongside amidst lectures of the types of wine and the difference between wine growers and wine makers.

Time for desert! Our cake came out very moist and tasty and I was happy being armed with two new recipes. I honestly love Chateau Lagarette, not only for the wine and snails but for the so much love Olamp and Yvone Minvielle share and show in all they do.

Check out my de-shelled snail sauce recipe with memories from Chateau Lagarette.

SNAIL IN TOMATOES SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

·         Tomatoes

·         Snails

·         Tomato paste

·         Garlic

·         Pepper

·         Seasoning

·         Coriander

·         Bacon

·         Vegetable oil

·         Spring onions

·         Onions

·         Black pepper

PREPARATION

Poach and peel tomatoes, chop onions and cube the Bacon. Blend the fresh pepper and a quarter bulb of Onions. Heat a table spoon of vegetable oil in a pan then slightly brown the bacons on its sides remove from pan then add a cooking spoon of vegetable oil, chopped onions and sauté. Add the spring onions and poached tomatoes.

Allow to cook for 5 mins or until tomatoes has broken down then add the tomato paste, blended pepper and onions. Stir then season with your choice seasoning, Italian spice, salt, black pepper and curry. Allow to cook for another 3-5mins or until the sour taste of paste has been eliminated then add the bacon, coriander leaves, cover and allow cook for 3-5 mins. Garnish with more coriander leaves then serve with Rice, Bread or even Yam and potatoes.

Bon apetit.

click to watch video here