Native Escargot and Lambsquarters

Did you know that if you live in California, the snail in your garden is most likely French? and no, you can't recognize it by the accent! The European Brown Snail (Helix asperas), is the common garden snail or French "Escargot". It is known in France as the "Petit Gris". The story goes that it was imported to North American during the gold rush in 1849. It wasn't a success at the time and so it was released only to show up in your backyard 150 years later. Although it is considered a pest, you can get your revenge by renaming it a delicacy and eat it. The "Petit Gris" is indeed very edible and...yummy!

Preparation:

Snails need to be prepared. You never know what they ate, it could be a somewhat toxic plant.

This is what I do:

Once foraged, I store the snails in a container without food for at least 7 days (some say that 2 days is enough but I don't agree). The container should allow air to circulate. I've made a custom snail cage with wire mesh. Once in the morning and another time in the evening, I spray water on the snails. The goal is simply to wake them up a bit and, well...to be direct...it makes the snails "poop" which, of course, cleanse their system. Another approach is to feed the snails for the first week on lettuce or oatmeal or bran and for the second week they are fasted.

The next step is to wash the snails under running water, then soak 30 minutes in water with vinegar and salt. Sometimes I don't use vinegar. The water must be rinsed several times to remove any "mucus" - this may require 4 to 8 rinses.

After the soaking and rinsing, I boil the snails for around 3 minutes. I add Italian or French spices with a tiny bit of salt to the boiling water.

The next step is to remove the snails from their shells and trim off the tail ends. If I want to freeze the snails for later use, I then recook the snails for 3-5 minutes in red or white wine, add lots of Italian or French spices (Herbes de Provence) and some garlic and place them in the freezer.

If I intend to serve the snails right away, they are simply cooked with garlic, herbs and butter for 3 to 5 minutes and sometimes placed again in their shell (which I washed thoroughly in boiling water).

Lambsquarters:

Cook about 11/2 cup of Lambsquarters leaves (I chop all the leaves around 8 times) in olive oil, add some garlic cloves ( I usually add 4). I add a 1/4 cup of water while cooking.

After 5-10 minutes, I add some soy sauce (taste it as you go along, you don't want to overdo it) and some pepper.

I sprinkle a bit of parmesan before serving and voila!