Want to look cool to your kids? Feed them snails! Okay, that might not work with all the kids, but you may very well have the kind of child who’s going to love the idea of going to school and announcing, “I ate snails!” Of course, you want to make it a very appealing snail dish–and you can start getting ready right now for National Escargot Day. That’s officially May 24th, and you don’t have to go dig up snails. You’ll likely be able to use the internet to find a nearby store that’s selling escargot.
Once that’s covered, serve them up with this swell recipe for Escargot in the Shell with Herb Butter–which we found at the FoodNetwork site. The shell makes the meal seem even more cool. And it’s a simple recipe, too, so you can give your children a gourmet experience without having to be a gourmet. Well, we can be gourmet cooks when we want to be, but why look for trouble? [photo via wishingforhorses]
Ingredients
- 1 pound escargot, in shell
- 1 stick butter, room temperature
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons Italian parsley, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
Directions
1. Rinse escargot under warm weather. Using a paper towel, pat the shells dry.
2. Grab a small mixing bowl and combine butter, shallots, garlic, lemon juice and parsley. With a small spoon, mix all the ingredients together. Lightly season the mixture with salt and pepper until you achieve you desired taste.
3. Scoop a small amount of herb butter into each escargot shell. Continue filling in the shells until all the butter has been used.
4. Take the stuffed shells and place them into the refrigerator for 20 minutes. This gives the butter enough time to solidify in the shells.
5. While the shells are sitting in the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
6. Once the butter is solidified in the shells, take them out of the refrigerator and place them into the oven. Avoid putting shells on a sheet tray, since we want the escargot to cook in the butter as much as possible.
7. Cook escargots for 15 minutes.
8. Serve escargots in its shells, on top of toasted slices of baguette or in a marinara sauce.
This dish can be made as an appetizer, side dish, or a meal itself. You might want to start with it as a side dish. Hard to believe, but some children have been known to kind of change their minds about eating some snails. That’s also why it’s a good idea to eat these escargots in a marinara sauce–but you can serve that on the side. Or pair the tasty treat with whichever sauce you like. Rich sauces usually work best, though. This recipe serves four to six people, too, so the whole family can get in on the snail scene.
