How To Hold a Feast, of Snails

Wait till the rainy season when snails are in abundance.

Don’t be tempted to pick their tiny cousins from gardens green as you did when you were this high…and call it a feast.

Best find a market and prepare to shell out some dosh. 

I say find a market where they have snails and will do the hard, slime work for you. The picking, the cleaning and the bagging.

Don’t buy from the deep freezer of a shop, supermarket except you were there when they were delivered :), fresh.

Ask for extra Alum, if you like. So when you make it home, you can give it another wash to clean it good and proper.

Then prepare for your feast. You single ingredient feast.

I love the idea of having an ingredient central to a party theme. So, pancake parties, and puff-puff ones too.

I think growing up as a cook has led me to explore ingredients deeper than I would.

It is why I love food so much – this ability to give equal focus to an ingredient, exploring the boundaries of the known, and the yet to be discovered.

I’ve seen tried and tested, weird and wonderful. And I’ve embraced that approach in learning about possibility. In understanding that flavour and texture and combinations and even juxtaposition of ingredients that I would not have thought possible.

Like savoury in sweet – basil poached peaches anyone? And scent leaf poached pawpaw.

And so it is that I’ll have pancake gatherings often. Pancakes 5 ways with sides and sauces and fruit.

And puff-puff the same.

Last weekend, it was snails and while I didn’t succeed in going from starter to dessert with them, I tried darn hard.

And for a worthy occassion too – celebrating the sisters six.

We had
Smoky snail jollof
Peppered snails

Snail Salad
Snails baked in the awesome green scent leaf sauce and topped with garri

And it was all yum. Really yum. 

I have one more snail experiment I cant wait to make…so so so excited. It tastes wonderful. In my head and on my tongue… I just need to hold it in my hand and bite. 

I so am looking forward to the weekend.

And working on a theme for the next feast. All say yum.

[wpurp-searchable-recipe]How To Hold a Feast, of Snails – – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]