A Taste of Crete - Snails

This dish has been a long time comin'. Remember when I picked and jarred my own grape vine leaves for dolmades? Well...that same patch also was rampant with snails.

After consulting Maria of Organically Cooked, I went and harvested a bucket of snails which would have to be plumped and purged of any food they may have eaten of late.

Ideally, this process takes 4-6 weeks but it really wasn't that difficult and the final, delicious result was well worth the wait.

First off, I found and used a plastic hamper-type crate, the ones often used to cart and transport fruits and the holes in the crate were small enough to not allow the snails to escape and I covered it with a wooden board.

I placed the snails in my garage with some of the grape vine leaves, some corn meal and pasta to feed the snails.

Each week (wearing plastic gloves) I removed as much fecal matter as possible but this task became easier with each passing week as the snails were mostly now in their dormancy stage and food did not have to be replenished and little additional poops were to be found.

Yesterday, time was up for my snails. I removed them from the plastic crate and placed them in my kitchen sink. I plugged the drain and filled the sink with water up to about 1 inch high.

Almost immediately upon submerging the snails did they realize they were in cold water and they did awake from their dormancy and started peeking out of their shells...trying to crawl out of the sink!

At this point, it was time to ascertain if there were any dead snails in the lot and I started plucking any snails (most) that had peeked out their shells and showed signs of life and I placed then in a nearby colander (with a cover on top).

Out of the 70 or so snails, perhaps a dozen were devoid of life, they felt lighter than the rest and upon close inspection, I could see that the opening if the the shell had a dark discolouring to it...YEP, they were dead and they got chucked.

Before I go on to the dish at hand, I'd like to thank Maria of Organically Cooked for her immense patience in educating me, hand-holding and encouragement throughout this process. I've given you the abridged version of the preparation of snails but you may source, with great detail how to find, prepare, clean and cook snails.

Part A, Harvesting Snails

Part B, Cleaning & Cooking Snails

From here on...I'm on my own.

In order to rid the snails of any remaining impurities, I was instructed to boil the snails in in salted water until little or no scum was floating on the surface. I was lucky, as I only had to boil the snails two times (sometimes you need to repeat this process three - four times).

Before I get on to the dish, I must address the challenge of eating snails which for a novice like me, came with some difficulty at first.

I tried using a fork but that didn't work. I could have bought snail utensils but I don't eat snails that often to justify the purchase so...in a typical and resourceful Greek way, I used a wooden souvlaki skewer to poke, twist and pluck out the succulent snail meat from within the shell.

Eating snails are a delight. It's a messy affair but if you're like me, a "Kalofagas" who's in pursuit of delicious foods, then you'll want to give snails a try.

It's a messy affair but the flavour, the eating with your hands, the frequent sips of Raki in between bites along with many a dunking of bread in the sauce makes it all worth the trouble of harvesting, plumping and preparing snails.

I have never visited Crete but after enjoying this dish, I just got a little closer to enjoying a vacation on Crete.

Until next year, I leave you with Snails Stifado.

Snails Stifado

1 kg. of large snails
1 bunch of scallions, diced
1 large onion, sliced
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 pints of cherry tomatoes, roasted in the oven
7-8 cloves of garlic, roasted along with the tomatoes
3 bay leaves
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 cup of water
salt and pepper to taste
splash of balsamic vinegar

1. After boiling your snails to remove any remaining impurities, get a large pot on your stovetop and over medium-high heat, add your onions, scallions, bay leaves and rosemary and lower to medium and saute for about 5-10 minutes.
2. Now add the snails, roasted tomatoes and garlic, wine and water and bring to a boil. Adjust seasoning with some salt and pepper, cover with a lid and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
3. Ajust seasoning with salt & pepper and throw in a splash of balsamic vinegar to balance the sweetness from the onions and roasted cherry tomatoes.
4. Serve in bowls as an appetizer with good crusty bread and some Raki, Ouzo or Tsipouro.

Cretan Dakos

Greece is a small country geographically. It's northernmost borders abut Albania, FYROM, Bulgaria and Turkey and the rest of the country is surrounded by sea.

This makes Greece a peninsula but one cannot forget the hundreds of islands that dot the Mediterranean and host as Europes's playground each summer.

Greece's largest island is Crete (South of the mainland). If you ask any Greek, they will tell you Crete is a "must see" island.

Cretans are an independant bunch, leaders rather than followers and if one took a look at their lifestyle, you'd think their motto would be " why fix something that's not broken". This is certainly true of the Cretan Diet.

Although most Greeks eat much of the same foods on a daily basis, Cretans are steeped in the old ways...buying and consuming locally sourced produce, meats and other goods that arrive on the kitchen table. The Cretans are blessed with still being able to live off the bounty of their land.

Here are the basics of the Cretan Diet:

• Eat local and eat seasonally.
• Incorporate as much wild greens into your daily diet as possible.
• Eat a moderate amount of dairy and milk products.
• Limit the consumption of meat to once or twice a week.
• Eat a moderate amount of seafood.
  
• Olive oil is the principle fat in the diet.
• An abundance of local and seasonal fruits and vegetables are consumed.

I have not been to Crete (yet) but I will go, perhaps next year. It's a big island and I believe that a two week tour of the island will do it justice and give me a good taste of what I like of the island. That way, I can pinpoint where to visit on Crete during future visits.

For a few months now, I've been getting a daily glimpse into Cretan life through the eyes and words of Maria of Organically Cooked. Maria is an ex-pat New Zealander of Greek extraction who now lives permanantly in Crete with her husband and children.

Maria writes in depth accounts of Cretan life, diet, recipes, traditions and the struggle of an ancient society trying to buck the changing world around them. It's an uphill battle but Cretans are strong - they will prevail.

One of Crete's most popular gifts to Greek cuisine is the Cretan Dakos. Dakos are a twice baked rusk made of whole wheat or barley flour and bread has always been an important part of Cretan and Greek diets.

Dakos or Paximadi have been known in Crete since the Middle Ages. These rusk-like rolls are shaped into rings and baked once before being sliced in two and dried slowly in a cooling oven.

After searching on the 'net for a Dakos recipe...all I would come up with are instructions with how to dress a Dako...DUH!

This recipe is from a chef named Ioannis Lappas. Three types of flour are used here: regular all-purpose, whole-wheat and barley.

If you're wondering where to find barley flour, check out a health food store or a bulk food store (that's where I found mine).

Dakos are Greece's own Bruschetta. When preparing a Dakos, be generous with the extra-virgin olive oil and allow a couple of moments for them to become thouroughly impregnated. Not only does it provide the bread with a great taste but it prevents the juices of the tomatoes from making the bread soggy (crunchy is good here).

Finally, although most Cretans wouldn't do this, I recommend mincing some garlic into the grated tomatoes or brushing the Dakos with a clove of garlic to impart some flavour.

Cretan Dakos (baking)
(makes 48 halves)

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup barley flour
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
some warm water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. salt
3 cups of warm water

Pre-heated 400F oven

1. In one bowl, add your yeast with some sugar and tepid water and allow for the yeast to activate for a few minutes.
2. In another bowl, add all three of your flours and salt and mix well.
   
3. When your yeast is readyand active, add the olive oil to your yeast mixture and then make a well in the middle of your flour and add the yeast mixture into the flour and gradually add your warm water while drawing in more flour.
4. Knead the mixture on a work surface that's been treated with bench flour for about 5 minutes. The dough should be moist but not stick to the work surface (add flour as needed). Form into a ball then cover with plastic cling wrap and a tea towel and allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes (room temperature).
5. Divide into small balls and then roll each out into a long piece of dough, then form into a ring.
6. Place each ring onto a oiled baking tray and cover. Allow the dough to rise (expand) for another hour or so.
7. Place your tray in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes and bake in batches. When the bread is still warm but safe to handle, cut each ring into half and place back on the baking tray.
8. Turn your oven off and place your trays of Dakos back in the oven for about 40 minutes to dry up in the oven's residual heat.
   
9. When the Dakos have returned to room temperature, you may dress your Cretan Dako.

Dressing Cretan Dakos

4 Cretan Dakos
Extra-virgin olive oil
clove of garlic
1 large very ripe, sweet tomato
crumbled feta cheese
dried Greek Oregano

1. Take a clove of garlic and use it to scrape on the Dako to impart the garlic flavour on the bread.
2. Now generously drizzle extra-virgin olive oil onto each Dako and allow for the oil to soak in for a few minutes.
3. Make a puree of fresh tomato using the side of your box grater with the largest holes and discard the skin.
4. Spoon the tomato puree onto each Dako.
5. Now top with crumbled Greek Feta and finish off with dried Greek oregano.
6. Serve as an appetizer, meze or snack.