I know! Snails are definitely a dish not appreciated by everyone, but I love them and they remind me of my childhood and those who taught me to appreciate them. For those like me who have always eaten them, they know what delicacy I am talking about; moreover, they are a food rich in substances like iron, vitamins, minerals, etc… but one can always learn to enjoy them. To be honest, as a child, I often ate land snails, which are larger than those presented in the recipe. Generally, both small and larger snails are left to purge for a couple of days in a net, or a wicker basket, or simply a colander that we all have at home. The important thing is that they are in a perforated and covered container to prevent them from escaping… Now, I’ll leave you to the preparation. Just have a little patience!!

Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Inexpensive
Preparation time: 1 Hour
Portions: 2
Cooking methods: Slow Fire
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

1 lb snails
1 leaf bay leaf
6 cherry tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
salt
oil
chili pepper
1 cup of water approximately

Tools

Pot
Toothpicks

Steps

After leaving the snails to purge for a couple of days, you will need to remove the “veil” that the snails form, with the help of a toothpick. It’s very simple, you will see it immediately; it is in the open part of the shell, white in color, and you will need to break it to allow the snails to exit the shell.

Once you have removed the veil, start rinsing the snails several times; they must be clean. You will see that as soon as you wash them, they will start coming out of the shell.
At the end of the washing, fill a pot with water and pour the snails inside, cover with a lid and place on the smallest burner over very low heat. Let them go until they have all come out; before turning off the heat, make sure they are all out and not moving. It will take about 20 minutes, then turn off.
Drain the snails. In the same pot, put oil and garlic, lightly brown and add the snails, then add bay leaf, salt, chili pepper, and tomatoes.
Stir a little and add a cup of water (since I had a base of water and concentrate, I added that). Cover and cook over moderate heat for about 20/25 minutes.
The stewed snails are ready!! How delicious!