Best Snail Tartlets Recipes

BAKED ESCARGOT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Melt butter over medium-low heat in a saucepan. Add snails, garlic, and parsley; cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Place 1 snail along with some sauce in each cup of an escargot pan. Sprinkle tops with Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted, bubbling, and lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

SNAIL TARTLETS

Steps:

• Drain and rinse snails. Place in a saucepan with wine, water, onion, peppercorns, bay leaf and salt to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes. Set aside to cool in the broth.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Combine flour and one teaspoon salt in a bowl or in the work bowl of a food processor. Mix with a fork or by turning the machine on and off once or twice.
• Add all but two tablespoons of the butter in small pats and blend, using a pastry blender, a fork or two knives, or by using a pulse mechanism of a food processor, until the butter is the size of small peas. Add the ice water a little at a time, mixing lightly until a ball of dough can be formed. With a food processor, add the water through the feed tube. You may need less water if you use a food processor.
• Roll out the dough and cut three-inch circles to fit tiny tartlet tins, each about one-and-three-fourths inches in diameter. Tuck pastry into the molds, prick the bottoms, then bake for about six minutes, until the pastry looks dry but has not colored. Remove pastry from oven.
• Drain snails. If they are very large, coarsely dice them.
• Melt remaining two tablespoons of butter in a skillet, add the garlic and saute over low heat until the garlic is tender but not brown.
• Add the snails and cream and cook, stirring for a few minutes. Stir in parsely and season to taste with salt. Remove from heat and stir in the milk.
• Beat the eggs. Stir into the snail mixture. Spoon this mixture into the tartlet pans, distributing the pieces of snail evenly among them.
• Place in the oven, reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake about 20 minutes until lighly browned.
• Cool briefly then serve or prepare in advance and reheat for 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven before serving.

FRESH FRUIT TARTLETS

Steps:

• Line tartlet tins with the pastry (use boat-shaped tins if you have them). Bake blind in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. When cold, brush the inside of the tartlet cases with the melted chocolate and leave to harden.
• Mix together the cream cheese and double cream until very smooth, then add the sugar and vanilla essence. Fill the tartlet cases with the cream mixture and arrange the fruit on top. Brush with the apricot or red currant glaze, depending on the fruit used, and leave to set.
• Sift the flour and salt together and rub in the butter and lard until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add the cheese, if using, and bind with a little cold water. Chill for 30 minutes and then roll out and use as above.

POPPY-SEED SNAILS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine water and yeast. Stir until yeast dissolves.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine flour, salt, and 2 tablespoons melted butter on low speed. Add yeast mixture, and mix until well combined, about 2 minutes.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch dough down, shape into a rectangle, cover in plastic wrap, and place on a baking sheet. Chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
• Meanwhile, on a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper, roll the remaining pound of butter into an 8-inch square, between 1/8- to 1/4-inch-thick. Wrap in parchment paper, and let rest at cool room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll chilled dough into a 12-inch square. Center butter square over the dough so that each side of the butter faces a corner of the dough. Fold the corners of the dough over the butter to enclose. Seal the edges by pinching together. Turn over dough, seam-side down. Roll into a 24-by-8-inch rectangle. Fold dough into thirds, aligning edges carefully and brushing off excess flour. (The object is to ensure that the butter is distributed evenly throughout so that the pastry will puff evenly when baked.) This completes one turn.
• Repeat the process of rolling and folding once. Chill for 20 minutes, just until cold but not firm. Then repeat process twice, dusting work surface and dough generously with sugar, about 2 cups sugar total for the 2 turns. You will now have completed 4 turns. Refrigerate dough 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, brush 24 (3 1/2-by-1 1/2-inch) ring molds with melted butter. Transfer to 2 baking sheets lined with nonstick baking mats, and set aside.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and divide in half. Sprinkle work surface and dough with half of the remaining sugar and roll out half of the dough into an 18-by-12-inch rectangle. Evenly distribute 1/2 cup of filling over the dough. (If filling with poppy seeds or nuts, you may want to sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar.) Roll from short side of dough creating a log. Cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices. Place each slice into a prepared tart ring and lightly press in place. Repeat entire process with remaining dough and filling. Cover with plastic and let rise for 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake on the middle rack until deep, golden brown, 24 to 28 minutes. Immediately remove rings using tongs and let snails cool on a wire rack.