Snails stew -Yiahni
The following recipe is from the book of the late monk Epifanios, who highlights the culinary art of Mount Athos like no other. Snails are a difficult but delicious and humble delicacy that the lant of Mount Athos generously offers with the first rains. Try these delicious snails yiahni, which are made like a stew and accompany it with some rice or fresh sourdough bread. Read the monastic recipe to learn how we clean it and many more secrets.
First we have to distinguish the live ones from the ones that have died. We put the snails in a pot and fill it halfway with water.
Then, we cover the pot with its lid, putting a weight on top, because otherwise the snails will escape into our kitchen.
We leave the snails for 5-6 hours in the water. The live snails will pop out of their shells and scurry around in the pot. We throw away the rest.
We wash and drain the live snails and put them back to the pot with plenty of cold water.
We turn of the fire and as soon as the snails boil, then we skim them.
After 20 minutes of boiling we add the vinegar and salt.
We continue skimming without stopping until the water in the pot is clean.
After about an hour, we take them off the heat, drain them in a colander, rinse them with cold water and let them cool.
We cut the back of each snail with a sharp knife, creating a hole through which the salt and oil will enter the snail and taste.
Finally, we remove all the pieces from the shells, washing the snails all 3-4 times. The snails are now ready to cook.
We peel the onions and the cloves of garlic.
We frizzle the onions and the garlic in a pot over low heat.
Then, we add the snails, we add some water and boil for about half an hour.
Then, we add the wine, spices and herbs.
We dissolve the pulp in a little water and add it too.
We boil everything together on a low heat stirring now and then.
After 1 forty minutes we reduce the heat to a minimum, stirring constantly because the liquids of the food have been saved.
After 30 minutes on low heat the onions should have melted and we should have a thick sauce.
Then our food is ready.
If we collect the snails ourselves, we must know that only those with a white shell are good and not those with a greenish shell.
If the snails we collected are more than what we need for food, then after boiling and cleaning them we can store them in the freezer.
If we don't know hot to collect snails, then we can get them from the market.
