And if you haven’t tried them yet / try the delicious snail / which is much tastier than caviar / and is a great Spanish product. This is how the Sevillian band sang Don’t tread on me, I’m wearing flip flops for a slimy animal that barely fits through the eyes. And it even requires a special fork to eat it, but it becomes a vice in no time. Like pipes, just trying one is enough to make you want to continue to infinity. This small gastropod mollusk, which was already served on Greek and Roman tables, is one of the most unique attractions of national cuisine, where its consumption has an Andalusian accent. “There are snails,” reads on the blackboards of numerous taverns in Seville and Córdoba, but also in Jaén, Cádiz or Málaga. Beyond Despeñaperros, the kitchens of Catalonia, the Basque Country, Zaragoza and Murcia pamper the snail, now in season. It’s time to pay attention to the flip flops: it’s time to try it.
There are thousands of species in the world and in the Iberian Peninsula there are more than 500, but there are four snails that usually reach the stove. One of the smallest is the variety helix theba and one of the greatest is Helix aspersa, the classic garden snail. The most famous, however, is the Helix Otala, with a medium size and known in Andalusia as cabrilla. They were consumed in ancient Greece and their first farms—called cochlearia and now little replicated in Spain due to their difficult profitability—are from Roman times: in sites such as Torreparedones (Baena) numerous remains of the animal were found in the area where they were accumulated. the waste. Today Italy and France are its main markets, always behind Spain. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, each Spaniard consumes an average of 400 grams annually. That is, the country consumes 16 million kilos every year. Its market price is around six euros and its origin, up to 87%, is from Morocco, according to a 2020 Government report.
The bug has good nutritional value. “It has 17% protein and, although it does not reach the values of meat, it is very close. They are, in addition, of high biological value because they have almost all the essential amino acids, with the advantage that they are a very low source of fat,” says Rafael Moreno, professor in the Food Science and Nutrition Area at the University of Córdoba. The specialist explains that although they can be eaten raw – something only suitable for the brave and skilled, because the animal makes it difficult – the usual thing is to consume them after a cooking process (although this reduces their proteins by half). Moreno, also director of the Chair of Mediterranean Gastronomy at the Córdoba university, adds that the animal offers minerals such as calcium, zinc or iron, as well as vitamins A and B12. His conclusion is that it is a “quite healthy” product and his recommendation is that if they are collected in the field, they should be left fasting for 48 hours so that they can be cleaned. This prevents possible poisoning.
The personal touch
Health is good, but flavor is lacking. That is why it is usually cooked with many seasonings. Rafael Pérez, a 57-year-old from Córdoba, who represents the third generation in charge of La Magdalena, one of the most traditional snail stands in Córdoba, knows this well. It was his grandfather, Manuel Rojano, who opened it in 1965. What is the recipe for his success all this time? “We use numerous spices. And we prepare it with a personal touch,” explains Pérez, who opens every day at 11:30 in the morning to cook about 200 kilos of snails a day, which also serve to regain energy for those who take the Cordoban patios route in May.
Every year the city hosts around thirty of these removable beach bars, which this year were installed on February 27 and will operate until June 19. Garlic, onion, cumin, black pepper, coriander, cloves or chilli are classic ingredients in snail broth. At La Magdalena they are considered pioneers in serving them with a certain spiciness thanks to paprika, although their customers usually order them in traditional almond sauce or in broth with mint. “We are not in favor of inventing too much, we like to respect tradition,” says Rojano. Other businesses do bet on novelties. In the capital of Cordoba you can find almost fifty different proposals: with eggs and potatoes, in sauce teriyaki, with grilled octopus, carbonara, with chorizo or tripe, among many others. Also with nachos and cheese, as they offer at Peque II. Among the most acclaimed positions are CaracolExpress —next to the AVE station— or Norena Snails, on Isla Fuerteventura street. The ones in Cruz de Juárez or those scattered throughout the Agricultural Gardens, usually known as the duck park, are very popular.
Seville, Cádiz… And Lleida
As in Córdoba, “every inhabitant of Seville has a bar that makes the best snails,” said Twitter user @rancio a few days ago. Just ask to find answers that highlight dozens of establishments from end to end of the Andalusian capital. El Cateto, in the Huerta de Santa Teresa, is one of the most recognized. Camacho Winery or Casa Manolo in the Plaza del Pumarejo, El Kiko (Triana), El Tremendo (San Felipe) or Casa Paco (La Juncal) are some of those blessed by the town. One stands out, the La Mina winery, on Cuesta del Rosario and with a terrace in Plaza de la Pescadería. It has been serving snails for decades and for years has hosted the Pregón del Caracol, which in the last edition to date – that of 2023 – was led by Ramón López de Tejada, owner of another Sevillian classic, the Abacería de San Lorenzo.
Taberna El Chato and Jarrucheo in Jaén or the Nebraska bar in Cádiz are also meeting points for snail lovers, such as the Snail Route in Rota or the Snail Fair in Bornos, where more than 5,000 kilos are distributed every year. In Malaga, fishing neighborhoods such as Pedregalejo or El Palo have historically served them. Each bar or tavern always included snail broth and red catfish stew on its menu. “It is one of the dishes that has been lost, but I have the feeling that it is beginning to come back with force,” says Pablo Quiñones, who remembers collecting snails with his grandmother in Argentina and after 26 years in Spain, he has now run the restaurant for six. Primitivo restaurant, on Paleno soil. Their menu includes goats—cooked first for 20 minutes and then another 25—they are always in sauce with Iberian ham and chorizo, stewed with carrots, tomatoes, cumin seeds, chilli peppers and garlic, as well as sweet and hot peppers. “It is a dish that is in high demand. It only makes an impression on some when the snails are larger in size and you can see their antennae and eyes,” says the cook, who sometimes offers a scallop with snail soup or rice with snails off the menu, already on request.
More linked to haute cuisine, chef Mario Rosado—born and raised in El Palo—has a tasting menu at his restaurant Yubá Experience of a snail stew with chickpeas and Iberian chestnut dewlap Dehesa de los Monteros. It is a personal way of reinterpreting the traditional dish with ras el hanoutcumin, garlic, cinnamon and a majao of bread and almonds. “It comes from everything I have seen in the bars in my neighborhood and also in a dish that was made at home after going to catch snails in the countryside,” says the chef, who highlights that the difficulty of cooking with this mollusk is getting the flavor point. There are hundreds of recipes: from Biscayan or Madrid-style snails to cargols to the llauna, made in the oven (or over hot coals) with garlic, parsley, brandy and spices to taste. It is a typical dish from Lleida where it has been celebrated every year since the eighties. L’aplec del Caragol (The snail encounter) which on this occasion will be from May 24 to 26 and where around 14 tons will be consumed in just three days.
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