Favourite Snails Bourguignonne

Escargots, no special dishes or shells required. This French bistro classic tucks the snails into roasted mushroom caps, which catch the garlic butter just as a snail shell would and add a meaty, earthy bite of their own.

The snail butter is the soul of the dish, a rich blend of butter, garlic, and parsley that melts down over everything in the oven and perfumes the whole plate.

Sweating the mushroom caps first, seasoned and slicked with oil, draws out some of their water so they don’t flood the dish once the buttery filling goes in.

Tuck a few snails into each cap, cover generously with the herb butter, and heat just until everything is hot and the butter bubbles.

Serve them sizzling with plenty of crusty baguette for mopping up the garlicky pools of butter, the best part of any escargot.

Chef Tips

• Sweat the mushroom caps first so they shed excess water and don’t go soggy under the butter.
• Rinse and pat the canned snails dry before stuffing so the butter clings instead of sliding off.
• Heat just until bubbling; overcooking turns snails tough and rubbery.

Variations

• Stir a splash of white wine or Pernod into the snail butter for extra depth.
• Add a sprinkle of breadcrumbs and parmesan on top for a gratin-style crust.
• Use the same garlic-parsley butter on clams, oysters, or shrimp.