Snails Extra

...three gorgeous, traditional recipes from Crete, Liguria and Provence

First gather your snails from garden or meadow (if the species is not on the prohibited list, as in France, for reasons of scarcity) or buy them ready-starved from your nearest mollusc-friendly snail-farm. If the former, transfer the snails to a large, roomy bucket under a heavily-weighted lid - they’re remarkably muscular escape-artists - wait for 3-4 days (up to a week) rinsing off the gunge as they produce it every day. Feed them or not, as you please - lettuce, herbs, oats is a mistake - bearing in mind that the less they eat, the less gunge, the quicker they’re ready for the pot.