Please forgive my Pi Day ADD from last week. I promise to never deviate from the pre-determined menu again…unless of course it’s for something super awesome. Like Halloween. Or the Fourth of July. Or Bring Your Potted Plant To Work Day…which I’m sure is a holiday somewhere.

Ok. Let’s face it. I’ll probably deviate a lot. But it’s fun, isn’t it? 🙂

Anyway, today we’re back on schedule: cookin’ hobbit food and takin’ names! I’m especially excited for this week’s recipe, because I get to profile a Hobbit character whom I’ve always felt is overlooked: the thrush. Remember how he helps Bilbo find the entrance to the Lonely Mountain? And that time when he revealed Smaug’s weakness to Bard? The little dude’s got spunk! That’s why I wanted to be sure he was represented in our Hobbit menu. And so I present: The Thrush’s Parmesan & Thyme Escargot, a human-friendly version of the snail snack he was eating when Bilbo met him.

NOTE: I know escargot can seem intimidating, but the recipe here is really easy (I adapted it from one I found on Indonesia Eats). And since it doesn’t use the shell, it’s a lot more wallet friendly than in-shell escargot.

Parmesan & Thyme Escargot

“At that very moment he heard a sharp crack behind him. There on the grey stone in the grass was an enormous thrush, nearly coal black, its pale yellow breast freckled with dark spots. Crack! It had caught a snail and was knocking it on the stone. Crack! Crack!”
— The Hobbit

INGREDIENTS:

• I used a 7 oz. container of boiled and frozen snails (thawed), but you could also use the canned variety
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 shallots
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• Makes 1 dozen escargot “cups”
  

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Rinse your snails in a colander to remove any excess sand…because gritty escargot is sad escargot.
2. Preheat your oven to 350°. Place the snails in a medium bowl and add the olive oil, butter, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
3. Peel the papery outer layer from your shallots. Chop them into quarters and toss them in a food processor.
4. Now it’s time to peel the garlic. Here’s a quick trick that can save your fingernails (just be sure to use it safely):
   

   This slideshow requires JavaScript.
5. Once your garlic is peeled, toss it in the food processor with the shallots and process them together on high speed until minced.

   

6. Now add your bread crumbs, Parmesan, and thyme to the mix and pulse the processor 3 times (or until just combined).
7. Remember the bowl of snails we set aside earlier? Pour the mix from the processor in with the snails and stir it up a few times. Five stirs or so should do it–we don’t want those bread crumbs gettin’ soggy!
8. If you don’t have an escargot baking dish, just grease up a cupcake tin. I won’t tell anyone. 😉

   

9. Put 2-3 spoonfuls of mix into each cupcake well, until you’ve used up all the mix.
10. For color, top with a sprinkling of Parmesan and parsley flakes (strictly optional).
11. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
12. Serve warm on fancy dishes, while wearing a monocle…or reading about that awesome little thrush in The Hobbit! 🙂

    

 

 

 

 

Here’s the Yummly Printable!

Save