- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: about 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
Combining two of my favorite things in the world to eat, morels and escargot, this appetizer is a special treat for me! This is my attempt to copy the fabulous recipe I enjoyed at Tony’s restaurant in St. Louis, MO.
So far, the feedback has been excellent! I’m so thrilled, because the only reason I cook is to put smiles on people’s faces.
If I lived alone, I’d eat carrot sticks and blue cheese dressing. Actually, the original Tony’s recipe contained only morels and no escargot. Whichever method you prefer, I hope you enjoy this appetizer as much as my friends and family do.
Usually, if I am reconstituting dried mushrooms, I will put them in a cup of the appropriate size, cover them with white wine, and pop them in the microwave oven for 1 minute.
Then I let them soak for 10–20 minutes, depending on the type and quantity of mushrooms. Always strain and reserve the soaking liquid for your sauces. For non-morel enthusiasts, the amount of these intense mushrooms may be halved.
For this Escargot en Croute recipe, you may try making your own scratch puff pastry dough to make the individual puff pastry shells.
The ready-made variety is usually easy to find at the grocery store in the frozen section, and the final product will be almost equally delicious. If I were more patient with pastries, of course I would make my own. But I’m not, so I don’t!
Ingredients
You will need: 1 medium-length sheet pan, 1 deep, large sauté pan, and 1 heat-proof cup.
- 24 canned helix snails, rinsed and drained
- 1.7 ounces of dried morel mushrooms
- approx. 1 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 shallot, very finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 pint of heavy cream
- 1/4 cup cognac
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon tomato paste
- 1.5 tablespoons dried tarragon
- 6 leaves of fresh basil, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh Italian (flat) parsley, finely chopped
- salt and white or pink pepper
- 4 large puff pastry dough shells
- 8 chive leaves, for garnish
Instructions
- Soften the dried morels by placing them in a cup and barely covering them with heated dry white wine or warm water. Set aside.
- In a medium sauce pan, melt butter. Add the shallot, and sauté until soft and golden. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add tomato, cream, sugar, strained wine, and cognac. Reduce heat and stir to make a rich, uniform cream. Add escargot, morels, and herbs, and simmer for ten minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Bake the puff pastry shells on the sheet pan according to package directions. Usually 20 minutes or until the cups are golden.
- Place 1 shell on each of the 4 appetizer plates. Spoon the morel-escargot mixture into the baked pastry shells.
- Drizzle pastries with the remaining sauce and garnish with two chives, criss-crossed atop each pastry cup. Serve immediately.
