Monacelle alla pugliese: land snail soup

PRESENTATION

Monacelles are snails or land snails of the Helix aspersa muller opercolate species, i.e. in the hibernation phase; the name derives from the brown color of the shell which recalls the monks' habit. This specialty in the city of Bari is called ciamaruchedd alla barese .

Monacelle are a refined and delicious product of the Apulian gastronomic tradition, versatile in recipes. Inevitable on special occasions for large family lunches, they are only available in certain periods of the year, which is why they are appreciated and sought after with delicacies. There are various preparation methods for these very special snails, one of the most common variations is the following.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE RECIPE

• 1 kg of land snails
• 1 glass of dry white or rosé wine
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 1 large white onion
• 500g of cherry tomatoes
• homemade tomato sauce (5 tablespoons)
• 50 ml of extra virgin olive oil
• Salt to taste
• 1 chili pepper
• homemade bread

PREPARATION OF PUGLIAN MONACELLE

Wash them and rub them to remove the dirt, remove the epiphragm (the white membrane called cream) and leave them to soak in cold water.

Drain and place the snails in a pan with cold water; heat over a low heat until they begin to come out of the shell. Raise the heat and leave to boil for 10 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and set aside, leaving the snails inside.

In a large pan, fry the onion cut into thin slices in oil, add salt, drain the shellfish, pour them into the pan and cook over a high heat, adding a few bay leaves and the chilli pepper cut in half.
Add the wine and, after a minute, add the chopped tomatoes and the sauce.

Cook over a moderate heat for 40-50 minutes without allowing the sauce that will be used for the slipper with the slices of homemade bread to dry out too much.

Place slices of homemade bread in deep plates and pour over the still hot snail soup; use toothpicks to extract the snails from the shell.

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Source: puglia.com