There are a lot of recipes that have a long history that is lost through time and this one is one of them. You see ideally the following recipe is one you make in the oven but not in this case.
A Blog about Greek Food and Greece
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Traditional Escargots Recipe with Red sauce
The following escargots recipe is considered a delicacy in Greece and really famous especially in Crete. Escargots in red sauce is something that you even going to love or hate…but apparently i am in the first category.
Land snails are regularly consumed in Europe and you can find them as a starter or main dish in France, Italy and Spain as far as i am aware of. In France they are called “escargot” and they served on there own shell prepared with garlic and parsley butter.
On the other hand in Italy and Greece it is common to cook them with a variety of sauces.
While in Greece there are a variety of different recipes in regards to that dish, one of the most famous ones exist in Crete where they dish is called “Μπουρμπουριστοί Χοχλιοί” but please…don’t ask me to translated. I wouldn’t know…
Anyway, going on with our escargots recipe we would prepare them with the same exact way we did in my house in Greece. This was one of my favourite dishes of my father and he has given me that recipe a long time ago when i visited my parents in Greece.
I worked hard to translate the recipe word by word…as much as i could.. 🙂
Ingredients for Escargots recipe in Red Sauce
- 1.5-2 kilos of snails
- 3-4 kilos of onions
- 1 can of tomato juice
- 1 spoon of tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- salt, pepper
- 1 cinnamon stick
The snails are on our table! How to cook Escargots in Red Sauce (extra tips if you are based in London, UK)
After a really rainy day we go to our garden and we gather some snails, approximately 1-2 kilos. (Most probably you wouldn’t wait much for a rainy day in London)
Alternatively, if you don’t have a garden, you can go to a park, or the famous English country side. If the two options are difficult you can go and buy from a shop that sell Cretan products.
In the case that you don’t have such a shop then you can look up to some of the Turkish ones that are around in London.
If after all these you still can’t find snails then you can do something else, cause you are not having that snails recipe today.
- Let’s say that we got around of 1.5-2 kilos of those screw worms crustaceans, we put them in a small pot with a cap and we sprinkle them with little water and flour so they can get out of there shell and they start to eat.
- We close the lid we secure it. If you don’t do that the can open it up and they will see them all around your kitchen.
- Once or twice a day we open the lid ( you’ll see that most are gathered around the lid ) pour everything into the pot, put enough water to cover the snails and stir relatively quickly for a while in order to clean and make them clean there shawls . After that we strain, sprinkle again with little flour and reseal.(no need to sprinkle again with water because it is already damp )
- This is repeated for at least three (3) days and always up to see them poop.
(yes poop, it is something subtle like threads that is pooping ) from black to become white . This means that the digestive system is clean of dirt that they normally eat. Also, you will see that the many agitations are gone as also the drool (foam ) .
We need to be careful as snails will…run away!
- Either way don’t expect that this will be perfect because this is how there body works and most probably they would be tasteless without any shawls.
- The shell meanwhile, must be by now completely clean after so many washings.
- Finally we reach the climax of the drama .After having cleanse the intestines, their shell and their shawls , it’s time to put enough water in a pot and bring it to boil. When the water is boiled, we add the snails and let them boil for 5 minutes. (the cruel and painful death of snails ) .
- After we boil them we drain them and with just a knife (preferably sawtooth) cut the top of the shell being careful not to cut your fingers . This is to tuck the tastiness in the back but in addition to that when you suck them they go right up your esophagus.
- Meanwhile prepare the sauce. In a pot put a good portion of olive oil, and cut in big portions some onions. ( twice the weight of the snail 1 to 2) Start to sizzle them but be careful not to over do it.
- Pour a can of tomatoes juice ( 450g.) and a tablespoon of tomato paste ,2 bay leaves , spices, salt and plenty pepper , cinnamon and a spill a vegetable cube. The spices always depend on the persons taste. Of course add some water if necessary.
- When our sauce is boiled then we add inside our snails and we let them boil together for some minutes. Our food then is ready! Just make sure you have enough juice in the sauce as this food needs a lot of bread also to go along the sauce!
Escargots recipe with Red Sauce
Good luck and bone appetite .
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My Top 10 Greek Foods to try
Oh Greece, lovely Greece! The sun! The historic monuments! The beautiful sandy beaches! …and obviously the famously tasty food! I guess there are so many things you can see and do in Greece if you ever go over there. As in any trip you do in any country the biggest problem you will encounter is that you don’t have enough time to see or do all the thing that you want!
Don’t worry! That’s why we are here!
The following are some of my personal favorite dishes that I will urge you to try if you ever go to Greece. Obviously there are many more available and special favorites depending the place you are but for this case we will only focus on some of them.
- Moussaka
You cannot start a discussion about Greek Food and the Greek kitchen without mentioning Moussaka, arguable the most famous of all the Greek dishes. Variations of the same dish can be found all around the Balkans, Turkey and furthermore to the east. However, the Greek version is one of the most famous ones and is based on layering: sautéed aubergine, minced meat fried pureed tomato, onion, garlic and spices like cinnamon and allspice, a bit of potato, and then a final fluffy topping of cheese and béchamel sauce.
Greens Boiled - Vrasta Horta – Boiled Greens
Well, that is something you certainly cant find in many places. I always remember my grandparents going out during summer out in the fields and trying to find the best leafy greens to boil. There are so many different types that I don’t even know. Packed with nutrients and flavor, these greens will compliment any meal. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and enjoy. Many times I remember my father asking for boiled greens as a salad to eat together with his fresh fish.
galaktompoureko - Galaktompoureko – Custard Phyllo Pie
If anyone manages to pronounce it properly I promise I will make one for him! Either way, its not important to learn how to pronounce but to find it and try it while you are in Greece. One of the best deserts you can have and obviously my personal favorite. If you manage and find a proper patisserie in Greece (and there are plenty) go and ask for one. It’s a divine combination of creamy custard and flaky phyllo dough that is baked to golden perfection then drenched with a lemon and orange infused syrup.
The Lazy Spinach Pie. This one is with out a phyllo sheet - Spanakopita – Spinach Pie
Greek and English have one thing in common. They both like pies! If you spend some time in Greece and especially wonder around in some of the villages in the North you will definitely find a lot of variations. Spinach pie is one of those classic popular pies that you can find anywhere, flaky phyllo sheets layered with a savory spinach and feta cheese filling. You can never go wrong with that!
The all too traditional Greek Souvlakia - Souvlaki – Pita Sandwich
The most famous fast food of the country. You can never go wrong with this one. Mentioned it thousand times on my blog and I am sure any other food blogger in the world has done it also. Small pieces of meat grilled on a skewer served on a pita bread with a variation of garnishes and sauces. Best thing you can have after a night out with value for money. Ideally its served with pork but nowadays in Greece you can find with so many different variations you cannot imagine.
- Fish – Just any kind of them
Honestly, in a country with so many islands and one of the biggest coastlines you can find around the world, you can never go wrong. Make sure that you find a nice recommended fish tavern and ask about the catch of the day. Usually when I go in Greece during summer I am dying to eat octopus either grilled or boiled. Then again eating grilled shrimps is not too bad either….or Sea Breams….or lobster pasta…or fresh Swordfish… or… or..or….
- Gemista – Stuffed Vegetables
Again, I could not have such a list without having one of my favorites dishes listed. Basically as it is made during the summer as it is the best season for most of the vegetables. You a create a heathen stuffing from rice and minced meat together with some seasoning and you stuff the vegetable with them. Let them cook in the oven and you have a dish for kings! Now we Greeks like to fight for anything so you will see many of them cooking them without minced meat as they believe that is the original recipe, which is equally good. Nevertheless, for me the ideal one would be with the minced meat added to them!
Our Patsa soup is ready with the addition of a bit of lemon - Patsas – Pork Soup
Ok, in order to appreciate the following dish properly you will need to do the following things.
- Go and enjoy the nightlife in Greece. Party until 6 o clock in the morning
- Find one of the restaurants called “patsatsidika” serving that soup and try it around 6 o clock in the morning after a hard night out
Pork soup seasoned with red wine vinegar and garlic, or thickened with avgolemono. Patsas has the reputation of remedying hang-over and aiding digestion, patsatzidika are often working overnight, serving people returning home after dinner or clubbing.
Traditional Greek dip tzatziki - Tzatziki – Garlic sauce
There is not a chance if you spend some days in Greece to not try Tzatziki. That famous garlic and yogurt sauce is used as a started or as a basic ingredient in Souvlaki and is one of the most famous dishes you can have in Greece. To be honest if you go to Greece you can have a variations of sauces as a starter dip that are quite underrated and deserve a bit more of your attention. Cool and creamy, this tangy cucumber dip flavored with garlic is perfect to compliment grilled meats and vegetables.
Photo credit by mygreekdish.com - Giouvetsi – Beef with Orzo stew
The following is one of the classic Sunday dishes that most of the Greek families have usually. Traditional recipe that you can find in many taverns around Greece with beef and orzo mixing up with melted cheese. One of my best memories when i was young about this dish was that my mother used to cook us Giouvetsi in clay pots which added a lot more on the taste. Good old times!
Obviously could continue the list with more and more dishes that i love but we would never stop. 10 are kind of hard to find but i think i made an honest attempt.
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Sea Bream with asparagus and baby potatoes
One of the best things in cooking is the fact that the element of “creation” exists in such a huge percentage. It doesn’t need to be something special that you are cooking but the fact that you are doing in your own personal way and you combine ingredients can have a great result.
The following dish isn’t something special in terms of relevance to Greece but it has all the elements that make love cooking. It has a variety of ingredients, it has fish (which i love), it is to cook and it looks great on the dish…which is important as it increases your appetite!
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Eating Souvlaki on Kalyvas
I am not sure which exactly is the most well known dish of the Greek cuisine. Most people know the greek salad, fasolada, gemista and many more but i am sure if you ask couple of…non greeks, a huge percentage will mention you also Souvlaki. The traditional fast food pita bread delicacy of greece.
