Mendip Wallfish is a traditional English recipe for a classic starter of prepared snails that are stuffed with herbed garlic butter and baked before serving on toast. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic English version of: Mendip Wallfish.
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In many parts of Britain, the common garden snail (Helix aspersa) was commonly eaten in the past. This is still done in parts of the Mendips and Somerset and you can see 'wallfish' on the menus of some pubs and restaurants. Eating snails is a great way of getting your own back on the little buggers who chomp through your flowers and vegetables. Just make certain you purge them for at least 5 days before eating to make sure any poisons they might have picked up have been eliminated from their bodies.
This is my purging regimen: collect and place the snails in a plastic box with damp newspaper on the base and holes drilled in the lid. Fast them for 2 days then discard the paper and replace with fresh. Add lettuce or cabbage or dandelion leaves etc. Allow the snails to feed for 5 more days before using. This ensures they are thoroughly purged. Remember to fast them for 24 to 48 hours before cooking to clean out their guts. You will need at least a dozen snails per person you are feeding.
This English method of preparing and cooking snails is also one of the easiest I have seen.
Bring a large pan of heavily-salted water to a boil. In the meantime, wash the snails thoroughly. Place in a colander and shake to ensure that all the snails are in their shells. Tip the snails into the boiling salted water and cook for 10 minutes (this stage both kills the snails and effectively gets rid of their slime).
Drain the snails and use a cocktail stick to remove the meats from the shells (you will soon get the knack of twisting your wrist as you pull them out to counteract the spiral nature of the shells). Turn the snail meats into a pan and over with a 50:50 mix of water and cider. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic and bouquet garni then part-cover the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 3 hours or until the snails are tender. Drain and set aside.
If you are going to use the shells, transfer the shells to a clean saucepan, cover with salted water, bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes. Drain the shells, clean throughly then set aside until completely dry.
For the herby garlic butter, combine the garlic, herbs and butter in a food processor. Season to taste and pulse until the butter is soft and all the ingredients are combined. Place a small amount of this mixture inside each prepared snail shell. Add one snail back to each shell then completely fill the shell with the prepared garlic butter mixture.
Arrange the snails in a baking dish, ensuring that the open ends of the shells point upwards (this is easiest done in a snail baking dish, but you can pack them tightly). Place in an oven pre-heated to 200°C and bake for about 12 minutes, or until hot and bubbling. Transfer the snails onto pieces of toasted bread and spoon over any juices from the baking dish.
