Ingredients:
- 30 uncooked snails
- 15g carrot (peeled and diced)
- 15g chopped leek (rinsed)
- 25g onion (peeled and diced)
- 10g celery (rinsed and chopped)
- 10g fennel (chopped), 2g peeled garlic
- 3g flat leaf parsley
- 2g thyme
- 2g rosemary
- 1 bay leaf and
- 2g black peppercorns
For herb infusion
- 3g flat leaf parsley
- 2g thyme, 2g rosemary
Method:
- Preheat oven to 120°C/250°F. Rinse snails under cold running water for 10 minutes. Place snails, carrot, leek, onion, celery, fennel and garlic in a saucepan. Make a secure muslin parcel with the flat leaf parsley, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves and peppercorns, and place in the saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover the mixture and slowly bring to the boil, skimming off all scum and impurities.
- Remove saucepan from heat and transfer contents to ovenproof dish. Make a cartouche and cover the mixture with it. Cover the dish with foil and carefully place it in the preheated oven for eight hours to braise.
- When the snails are cooked, remove dish from oven and remove foil, but leave on the cartouche. Allow snails to cool to 80°C/176°F.
- Meanwhile, create a second secure muslin parcel with the infusion herbs.
- Once the mixture has cooled to 80°C/176°F, add the infusion-herb parcel and infuse for 30 minutes, with the cartouche still covering the mixture, then remove and discard both muslin parcels.
- Once the mixture has cooled, strain it, reserving a small amount of liquid, and store the snails in a sealed container, along with the reserved liquid, in the fridge until needed.