This traditional Portuguese recipe Caracóis à Algarvia encapsulates the essence of Algarvian cuisine, combining locally sourced snails with a symphony of herbs, spices, and aromatics. From the fields to your table, let’s discover the secrets of Caracóis à Algarvia. Don’t cringe yet though, try them and then decide! Read more about this tradition here.
Ingredientes – 8 Pessoas | Ingredients – 8 People
- 2 Kg caracóis (2Kg of snails)
- 5 dentes de alho (5 garlic cloves)
- 1 folha de louro (1 bayleaf)
- presunto em tiras (sliced of presunto)
- 50 g em tiras de casca de limão (50g of lemon peel strips)
- 2 tiras de casca de laranja (2 orange peel strips)
- 4 hastes de tomilho (4 thyme sprigs)
- 2 colheres de sopa orégãos (2 Tbps oregano)
- 1 malagueta (fresca ou seca) (1 chilli (fresh or dry))
- 1 colher de sopa de azeite (1 Tbsp of olive oil)
- 1 colher de sopa de sal (1 Tbsp of salt)
- Pimento vermelho (Red bell pepper)
Preparação | Preparation
1 – Lavar bem os caracóis em várias mudas de água, esfregando-os com as mãos, para largarem o máximo de baba. (Wash the snails well in several changes of water, rubbing them with your hands so that they release as much slime as possible.)
2 – Colcoar os caracóis numa panela, cubri-los com água fria e tape. Esperar que comecem a sair das carapaças e colocar, a panela em lume muito brando até a água levantar fervura. (Put the snails in a saucepan, cover them with cold water and cover. Wait until they start to come out of their shells and put the pan on a very low heat until the water comes to the boil.)
3 – Escorrer a água, para eliminar qualquer vestígio de baba. Adicionar os dentes de alho esborrachados com a pele, a folha de louro, o presunto, as cascas de limão e de laranja, o tomilho, os orégãos e a malagueta. (Drain the water to remove any traces of slime. Add the peeled garlic cloves, bay leaf, ham, lemon and orange peel, thyme, oregano and chilli.)
4 – Juntar água quente até dois dedos acima do nível dos caracóis e regue com o azeite. Tape e leve de novo ao lume. Assim que levantar fervura temperar com o sal e deixe cozer, em lume moderado, cerca de 30 minutes. (Add hot water up to two fingers above the level of the snails and drizzle with olive oil. Cover and bring back to the boil. As soon as it comes to the boil, season with salt and cook over a moderate heat for about 30 minutes. moderate heat for about 30 minutes.)
5 – Colocar os caracóis no recipiente de servir e decore-os com os pimentos. (Place the snails in the serving bowl and garnish with the peppers.)
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