Sea snails with tomato and wild fennel

Sea snails belong to a class of invertebrates called gastropod molluscs – and the name says it all! These shell-on slugs are a gastronomic delight that, added bonus, is easy to prepare.

INGREDIENTS

Choosing the snails

– On the Adriatic coast, small sea snails (lumachine) can be found almost all year round whereas larger varieties (raguse and lumaconi) are harder to come by. Snatch them up if you see them for they are soft and flavourful like the best escargots.

– With most seafood shell-on is best, but in the case of snails it doesn’t matter much. Unlike prawns, whose flavour lies in the shell, or clams, which get it from the water that they release and you keep, the taste of sea snails is in what you chew and swallow. Picking the molluscs out of their homes adds to the experience though, so if you don’t mind getting your fingers dirty we recommend that you buy shell-on snails.

– While fresh should be first choice, you can use frozen snails too.

Cleaning the snails

Some people first clean the snails (when alive) by placing them in a bowl of salty water and letting them expel the impurities trapped in their shells. Boiling them after rinsing them and rinsing them again after boiling them achieves the same result in less time. 

PREPARATION

Cook the snails

• Rinse the snails under cold running water. They are pot-ready when the water runs clear.
• Bring a pot of water to the boil.
• Add two pinches of salt.
• Cover the pot and boil the snails for 30 minutes.
• Drain the snails and throw the water away.
• Rinse them again to eliminate any remaining residues like sand and algae.

Prepare the sauce

You can start preparing the sauce when your snails are almost cooked and ready to be drained.

• Peel the garlic, then crush or cut it into thin slices.
• Wash the fennel and cut it finely.
• Wash and chop the tomatoes into 2×2 cm (just under 1 inch) pieces.
• Sauté the garlic in the olive oil.
• Add the fennel and the chopped tomatoes, then sauté for a one minute.
• Tip in the tomato purée.
• Salt to taste.
• Add the snails to the sauce and simmer for 30 minutes; the snails are ready when the sauce has thickened and your molluscs are tender.

SERVE & PAIR

Serve your snails with tomato and wild fennel:

• Serve your dish hot; you can plate the pot and ladle the snails onto either bowls or flat dishes.
• Pair the dish with toasted sourdough (or pane pugliese.)
• Provide wooden toothpicks to pick the snails out of their shells.
• Provide your guests with a bowl of hot water with a slice of lemon: their fingers will get dirty! You may also want to replace your cloth napkins for paper ones.

Pair it with a white wine:

• Pair your snails with a bubbly Verdicchio. The Marche region has great DOCs from the Castelli di Iesi wine area.
• You can also opt for a Prosecco or a Rosé; avoid anything with a full body as it will drawn your snails. 
• If you prefer international cultivars, the grassy Savignon Blanc flatters the aromatic notes of the wild fennel.

ENJOY!