escargots. mushroom. cream. parsley.

our tasting theme for the August gathering was Chassagne Montrachet, and i was trying to come up with some Burgundian dishes to match with the wines. escargots (French snails) jumped to mind immediately. what are better than these earthy, hearty little gems to go with the richly flavoured whites and red of the region?

i very much like eating escargots, but i am never a big fan of the most commonplace (and commercial) preparation - suffocating them with parsley butter and bake. often the buttery-ness is just too overwhelming and overwhelming rich and steals the spotlight of the whole dish. is there some other way where i can cut back on the richness of the butter sauce while still keeping the dish flavourful, even letting the escargots themselves outshine the sauce?

a quick Google search came to rescue, and soon i set eyes on this recipe of Cassolette d'Escargot and recreated my own version. the parsley cream sauce is exactly what i need. i then played around with modifying other aromatics and foregoing the pastry which was just too much trouble to me.

the appetiser whipped up in minutes, just perfect when i had to excuse the group to prepare and bring to the table piping hot and still not feeling missed out. we served this with pre-packaged toast on the evening, and the leftover was fantastic tossing with pasta for a quick lunch.


escargots in parsley cream sauce

i reckon butter is no substitute here for the true beauty of escargots to shine. use sparingly if you are concerned. even a few teaspoon can make a real difference. feel free to adjust the amount of garlic according to your personal taste.

you will need:
1 tablespoon butter
4 to 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
250g button mushrooms, quartered (halved if small)
splash of white wine
approx. 2 dozen canned escargots, drained
2 heaped tablespoon creme fraiche (or heavy cream)
handful fresh parsley leaves
salt and pepper to taste

melt butter over medium heat in pan and sautee garlic until golden and fragrant. turn up heat to medium high, throw in mushrooms and splash pan with wine scraping off any bits that are sticking to pan. let alcohol boils off, keep stirring until mushrooms are soft.

add escargot to pan and heat through. add creme fraiche with parsley and stir to combine. season to taste and serve piping hot with toasted baguette or as a sauce for pasta or mashed potatos.