Comments on: Snail Spaghetti – Recipe

By: Marcus Web

Marcus Web — Mon, 16 May 2011 06:04:38 +0000

I’m in Melbourne, do you know a good place to get the snails (apart from the garden)?
Marcus Web´s last [type] ..Does Australian hosting affect SEO

By: Ro

Ro — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 05:05:18 +0000

I’m so going to try this! The little buggers will make a nice dish and I’ll be reducing my pest problem in my veg garden!

Thanks for sharing!

By: Fouad

Fouad — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 09:35:23 +0000

Hey Jude. If you want snails, go out an get her. Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I bet you get it all the time!
Snails are a great source of protein and have very little carbon footprint, so we should be eating them really, but I agree, some people can’t reconcile with killing their own meat. Let Abrie do it for you I say

By: Foraging Sydney – Mulberry Cordial – The Food Blog

Foraging Sydney – Mulberry Cordial – The Food Blog — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:21:54 +0000

[...] my share. Over the years, I’ve made orange and blossom cordial from a neglected shrub, harvested snails for spaghetti, made loquat jelly from a randomly self-seeded tree, collected wild dandelions for hindbeh from a [...]

By: Jude

Jude — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 02:02:40 +0000

Most interesting read. In my native South Africa, I would always order garlic snails at a popular Italian Restaurant. Nobody batted an eyelid at the thought of eating “snails” and they were delicious. Not just the garlic butter, but the texture of the snails too, and then the little bits of brown bread to soak up the leftover..
And whilst this dish looks most tasty, and the article most interesting; in the same way I don’t slaughter my own meat (though my husband would and has done this), I think I’ll stick with ordering and enjoying them and let the pros go a huntin’. a purgin’ and a preparin’!

By: Dotty

Dotty — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:12:59 +0000

I’m Italian and my parents frequently cooked snails for us growing up, but haven’t cooked any in a few years. They used to keep them in a wooden bushel in our cold cellar for about a week. They enclosed the bushel with a mesh covering and would stick uncooked spaghetti into each of the little holes in the mesh. The snails would eat/suck(?) the spaghetti… if you pulled out a noodle, you’d see that it would be softened at the other end.

At any rate, I remember being very young and taking handfuls of snails at a time and throwing them in my backyard to “set them free”. My papa caught me one day and he was not very pleased…

By: Syrie

Syrie — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 11:55:12 +0000

Fascinating read. I watched something on the purging of snails on an episode of Wild foods a few months ago. .-= Syrie´s last blog ..Crab and barramundi-stuffed zucchini blossoms =-.

By: Phuoc'n Delicious

Phuoc'n Delicious — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 08:12:49 +0000

HAHA Dude… I’m loving this! I had escargots in Paris and quite enjoyed it. I like the pic of all the snails in the pot like that and the last pic – what a sad fate for these creatures..
.-= Phuoc’n Delicious´s last blog ..Taking some time out =-.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 21:56:44 +0000

I really do appreciate that you mentioned in the comments that you still fed them. The idea of starvation (fasting seems like such a nice word for it) really made me sad

By: Beth M

Beth M — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:09:29 +0000

That picture of the snails in the bowl (some trying to escape!) is pricesless… I absolutely love it!

By: Victor

Victor — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:28:04 +0000

nice recipe – there are heaps of snails in our garden, but I cannot catch them, nor cook them and make an article about it. Simply because, the snail is a protected animal and there are heavy fines in my country for catching them. Sad, was looking forward to try your recipe…

By: SydneyCider

SydneyCider — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:27:48 +0000

simon – you're missing out!

sara – thanks. the purging process consists of fasting the snails in a wooden box for 5 to 6 days and washing them with water. You can feed them lettuce leaves or even bay leaves (for extra flavour), or nothing at all, which I think is not humane. the french then disgorge them by plunging them in salty water. have a read here: http://www.france-property-and-information.com/escargot-recipes-history.htm

ivorypomegranate – thanks! I understand what you mean about it being rough. but in reality, all meat we consume has been killed for us. If we don't admit that to ourselves, it would be an unhealthy disconnect bordering on the hypocritical

shanks – thanks it's really not that hard. you will love it, and they are quite abundant, so don't miss out.

joumana – thanks! hehehe. I didn't actually find them in my garden (which is almost non-existant). I found them on my Christmas holidays. You've had snails no?

Editha – thanks. I agree. the moral debate lives on. I know what show you are talking about. Gourmet Farmer with Matthew Evans, the ex-editor of the Good Food Guide. I watched it too. I say, if he wants to live off the land, he should do his darn best, and respect the animals around him! Did the show remind you of River Cottage? A bit of a sedate version of River Cottage though…

By: Taste of Beirut

Taste of Beirut — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:44:51 +0000

Fouad
fyi, I am giving away some freebies from Lebanon in case you are interested~

By: Editha

Editha — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 04:07:13 +0000

Great post Fouad! Very confronting, makes you think about what and why we regard some things more than others, to be legitimate "food". We watched a show on SBS a few days ago, about a hoping-soon-to-be farmer…when cleaning his garden he actually squashed some snails he found with his boots…How sad…

By: Taste of Beirut

Taste of Beirut — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 14:51:24 +0000

Fouad, that was one hell of a post! Very interesting, I would submit it to the New York Times, intitled " a Lebanese man cooks from his garden".
The photo of the slimy creatures in the pot trying to get out made me think of my daughter deciding to cook the fish in her aquarium one day.

By: Shanks

Shanks — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:29:51 +0000

Wow what a fascinating post – thanks for sharing, though I still wouldn't be confident in the purging process, or eating them lol!!

By: ivorypomegranate

ivorypomegranate — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:12:28 +0000

Whoaaaa…definitely intriguing! That second picture is a bit rough to look at when you think about cooking and eating them! Great post though truly unique

By: Sara (Belly Rumbles)

Sara (Belly Rumbles) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:26:06 +0000

I have had snails a couple of times the garlic and butter way in french restaurants but this looks like a lovely dish to try. Love the fact you hunted down dinner, but would love to know more about the purging process. I had no idea that snails were big on the Lebanese menu, thanks so much for sharing, love learning

By: Simon Food Favourites

Simon Food Favourites — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 10:56:41 +0000

ummmmmmmmmmm, i think i'll have to pass on this one. they really look like the garden variety snails. but the rest of the dish i wouldn't mind.