I was watching an episode of The Great Food Truck Race on the Food Television and saw a truck in San Francisco that did French food. They were offering an escargot pop which was basically a snail wrapped in puff pastry on a stick. This gave me the idea of trying this at home for my friend, Charlotte, who was coming from out of town for a visit.
Since I was offering them as a first course for dinner, I did not put a stick in them but this could easily be done if you want them “to go”.
I like to use puff pastry from Trader Joe’s if I am not taking the time to make it from scratch. I like theirs because it only contains real ingredients that you will recognize.
A hot oven is necessary to get the pastry to really puff up. Gruyère has a lovely nutty flavor and will add a lot to your dish.
To make the snail butter, just add some fresh minced garlic and parsley to softened butter.
If you want them in the form of a pop, then use two sheets of puff pastry and cut into larger squares so you can completely encase the filling so it won’t leak out.
Here is the recipe that I developed to give you the classic flavors of escargot that usually comes swimming in melted garlic butter along with a large chunk of bread for soaking up all the butter, but with a lot fewer calories and fat.
1 sheet of puff pastry
1 can of jumbo snails
2 oz. of Gruyère, cut into small pieces
Small amount of snail butter
Cut the pastry into squares to pair with the number of snails you have.
Place a small piece of Gruyère in the middle of each square and place in a mini muffin tin that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Place a snail on top of Gruyère and then finish with a small amount of the butter.
Pinch the corners of the pastry together just at the tip. They will open and puff up beautifully in the oven and that is what you want.
Bake in a 450 degree preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden and puffed.
Tags: appetizer, escargot pops, French, recipe
