An Acquired Taste!
Escargot is up there next to oysters, alcohol, coffee, anchovies, smelly cheese and even dark chocolate as an acquired taste. However, unlike the rest of these acquired tastes, snails are actually quite mild in flavor and have a great texture. Mushrooms and cooked snails have an almost identical texture; in fact, I don’t think someone could identify what they’re eating when served in a delicious garlic butter sauce and melted mozzarella cheese. You really need to give them a try to see how delicious this keto treats really is.
Escargot originated in France and is known for it’s buttery, garlicky notes. To make escargot, land snails are used and the bigger the snail the better since the larger snails have more meat. While you may be able to find snails anywhere outside, it is a good idea to buy your snails from a licensed vendor to ensure that they are the correct species. While most snails are edible, some taste better than others and a professional will be able to forage for the best ones!
Escargot can be prepared with white wine or chicken stock. For such a fancy dish, they’re pretty easy to prepare. The bulk of the preparation comes from boiling the shells and pulling the snails out one by one. It would be helpful to enlist the help of someone for this process; it’s tedious. If possible, look for a place that will do this part for you. Some gourmet markets may offer this service and you would be very smart to use it!
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Many dishes bake and serve snails right in their shells. This process involves removing the snails from the shells, then stuffing them back in with butter sauce. We decided to make the dish a little easier to prepare and recreated an escargot appetizer we enjoyed at L’Express, an amazing French restaurant in the city (bonus: it’s open 24 hours a day!). We liked their simpler approach to this classic dish and thought it would be much more user-friendly.
We removed the snails from the shells and combined them with garlic butter, parsley, mushrooms and melted mozzarella. Baking them in ramekins makes them absorb the delicious butter better and melts the cheese into a perfectly gooey, crisp combination. It’s almost like a gourmet, snail mac and cheese!
We also love making the escargot in individually sized ramekins so that everyone gets their own dish. It makes a fancy dish even fancier! This recipe is definitely one you should serve up at your next party. While it is completely keto and low carb, no one will ever know that such a decadent food would be part of someone’s diet. However, you know that all that melted butter and cheese are perfect for your keto diet. Fat is good! So enjoy this tasty dish that you can feel good about eating while also feeling super fancy. Enjoy!
| Servings: servings |
- 1 lb snails in shells
- 1 stick butter
- 1/4 lb mushrooms
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
- parsley
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Boil your snails in shell for about 10 minutes. This will help the snails out of their shells.
- Using a toothpick, pull the snails out of their shells. Discard the small protective plate at the opening of the shell.
- Chop up some mushrooms and squeeze garlic cloves using a garlic press and set aside.
- Melt a stick of butter and pour it equally into each ramekin you're using. We used 4 ramekins.
- Place the snails, mushrooms, garlic and parsley equally into each ramekins and give them a good stir to evenly distribute.
- Sprinkle the tops of the ramekins with shredded mozzarella cheese, salt and pepper.
- Bake in the oven for about 5-8 minutes until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.
- Serve warm with small spoons and some fresh parsley on top.
Loved this recipe? Let us know! Something didn’t quite turn out right? Ask us in the comments below or contact us– we respond to comments every day and would love to hear from you and help you out! And check out all our low carb dinner recipes to learn to make more delicious and healthy meals!
NUTRITIONAL DISCLAIMER
The content on this website should not be taken as medical advice and you should ALWAYS consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. We provide nutritional data for our recipes as a courtesy to our readers. We use Total Keto Diet app software to calculate the nutrition and we remove fiber and sugar alcohols, like erythritol, from the total carbohydrate count to get to the net carb count, as they do not affect your blood glucose levels. You should independently calculate nutritional information on your own and not rely on our data. The website or content herein is not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose or treat any disease. This website shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on the Website or actions you take as a result. Any action you take is strictly at your own risk.
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Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD is an aesthetic medicine specialist whose work focuses on patients who are treated for obesity, metabolic syndrome, and other weight-related issues through nutritional analysis, keto diet programs, and supporting medications.
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